The Girl in All Black
by PRSKaren
Summary: A harrowing love tale between the eccentric redhead Anna, and Elsa, an adorably shy girl who wears all black. The duo begin as best friends and become much more. Their relationship, however, gets complicated when Anna unearths a series of sinister secrets about her lover. Elsanna.
1. Our lovely beginning

She was so elegant.

She was so fetching.

She was so_ alone._

She walked into the room like she was on a different plane of existence. Everything about her was so... unearthly? So foreign. _So alien._

Elsa was the exchange student. We all know this kind of story. Some exotic girl transfers to a new school midway through the semester, dazzles her way to the highest rung of the social ladder, and the next thing you know, she's the most popular person in school.

This is anything _but_ one of those kinds of stories.

Now, before we begin with our tale, allow me to issue a friendly disclaimer. This is just a little warning to anybody here looking for a charming little yarn. This isn't one of _those_ stories. This isn't a pleasant little coming-of-age story where everybody grows a little bit and by the end, everyone is a happier, more profound person. This isn't the endearing account of a young woman going off on a lovely, rousing adventure. This isn't a story that's going to make you feel better about yourself or the world around you. No, this is the _feel bad_ story of the year, to be perfectly honest.

But, and perhaps I'm biased because the entire thing happened to me, it's a pretty incredible story. No, it's not profound. No, it's not a tale of discovery and the human condition. It doesn't delve into anything too deep or significant. It's angsty, moody, dramatic as fuck, and it's drenched in tragedy. It is, however, an epic tale of grand heroism. It's about a young woman who went against impossible, apocalyptic odds and conquered everything thrown against her. It's a harrowing romance between two disillusioned, disfranchised, mistreated, miscommunicated social miscreants and their story of eternal love. It's a story about someone who had everything in the world aimed against them and managed to come on top anyway. It's an intense, sweeping account of possibly the strangest thing that has ever happened and it's all told by me, the young redhead who it happened to.

But, don't worry too much. It has a happy ending.

Which, brings everything back to me. I'm Anna. I'll be your narrator for the proceedings. Everything that happened in this story, as unbelievable and bizarre as it may sound, actually happened. It all happened to _me. _I'm the girl who averted the freakin' apocalypse. But, I'm getting ahead of myself now.

This is the story of how I met my greatest love, and the entire shitstorm produced by her. Her name was Elsa. The two of us get ourselves into a lot of trouble throughout the duration of the story. You'll grow to learn a lot about Elsa. Elsa was, and always will be, the weirdest and most incredible person I have ever met. But I'll have plenty of time to establish all of Elsa's weird little quirks and personality traits, and plenty of opportunities to detail every last peculiar thing about her. In fact, I'll start right now.

For one Elsa wasn't really an exchange student. She didn't come from anywhere else. The teacher didn't know where she had come from, anyway. All the teacher knew about her was that she was in our class now. _That's it._ No real explanation. To make matters even more perplexing, we were two months into the curriculum. Now, one thing that absolutely sets our school apart from the others, is that the people in charge really just do not give a fuck. Not a single fuck. I've heard students transferring in and out of classes weeks after schedules were set. _But two months?_ This set a new precedent for indifference that seemed surprising even for our school.

So all we really knew about Elsa was that she was now a part of our lives. Whether or not we liked it, Elsa was one of us now. As the teacher stood at the front of the classroom introducing us to the new pupil, Elsa stood beside her. Elsa's mind was in another place though. Her eyes shifted to the side, gazing out the window. Her presence was anywhere but in that small little classroom.

The moment I first set my eyes on Elsa, I noticed how lonely she truly was. After the teacher finished introducing her, she told Elsa to take any seat she wanted. Without even a second thought, she walked past every desk in the room and planted herself right at the back. _All by herself._ See, since this was English, our teacher made it a general rule that no one was allowed to sit at the back of the class since she liked keeping everyone close to the blackboard. But she let Elsa stay there. Probably a kind gesture to the new girl, right? I mean it wasn't like she was hurting anyone.

"Are you sure you wouldn't find it more suitable sitting up front with the rest of the class?" she queried.

Elsa nodded.

And that was that. It never got brought up again.

Without further ado Misses Gerda launched right into that day's lesson. Occasionally, students would glance back at the new girl out of curiosity. I sat right in the front. Next to my best friend, Kristoff. We're going to delve a little more into my relationship with him in a bit. He's not particularly important quite yet.

Elsa sat by herself the entire class, copying down every last note and listening to every word from the very back of the class. She must have had excellent eyesight. While the commoners all bundled together at the front of the class, Elsa existed all by herself, in the back of the class. A force of nature so powerful; she demanded her own ecosystem, and she seemed happy that way.

She was weird. _Really weird._ Beautiful, but weird. Somebody once told me that no beautiful woman would ever be seen by society as weird, on the simple basis that physical appearance trances all common sense.

For example, imagine yourself on a subway. You're sitting, minding your own business, and the next thing you know some girl seated in front of you starts mumbling to herself. If this was some guy, every last person on that train would be terrified of this man, claiming him as some stark raving homeless guy. But a girl? It's unusual, it's quirky, but unless she's screaming racial epithets, no one is really going to mind her too badly.

Now, if that parable is too theatrical for you to swallow, let me just explain this a little more simply. _Elsa was hot._ Yes, she was fucking weird, but she was probably the most stunning girl in the entire school. She was so good-looking it evaporated any kind of awkwardness she ever could have possessed.

I'm a girl and I thought she was hot. My gay friends even thought she was hot. Everyone in that classroom thought she was hot. Hell, probably the school. She was pale. _Ghostly pale._ I mean, you have to live in the bottom of a cave eating chalk for a living to get as pale as Elsa. But even though she was pale her skin was very radiant and alive. She glimmered with life even though she looked like a walking corpse.

She made her pale skin even more noticeable by dressing in all black. No, _literally_, all black. Sometimes the lace embroidery on her outfits would have a little red or white patterning, but 99% of the time her outfits would consist of entirely black clothing. Her dresses were black. Her skirts were black. Her leggings, her jeans, her shirts. Hell, even her nail polish was black. I'm pretty sure her underwear was likely black. Seeing such pale skin contrast with such dark fabrics made her complexion even more notable. She truly looked like a vampire; a nonliving entity exhumed from the morgue, now walking among us.

The only color she ever wore was within her lipstick. Most of the time it was a bright red. It really stood out among all the murky colors she would often surround herself with. Sometimes I would notice when she licked her lips, and I would watch as she fondled her own bright lips with her tongue. It was kinda hot. I tried to never stare, or even look back in general, but I couldn't help it if she was licking her lips. Her lips were alluring. Her lips were laced with murderous intent, just looking for a heart to break.

Her presence was topped off by her hair. Neat, platinum blonde hair tailored into one long braid. And this was a _long_ braid. I honestly don't think she had ever gotten her hair cut before, it was seriously gigantic. My red hair is also braided, but in two separate braids, neither of which are very long. Elsa's single braid was humongous.

She would loom ominously at the back of the class. _Watching us. _Her presence was intense. I could feel her aura from all the way in the front of the class. I could feel her eyes gazing at me, stinging the back of my head like razor blades. She had been a student here for about a week. I only had one class with her. Everyone wanted to talk to her. Once after a particularly long lesson, our teacher gave us a few moments of free time to talk quietly among each other. Elsa just doodled in her school book peacefully. She shielded herself away from the rest of the world with her headphones.

Misses Gerda announced that she was briefly going to get herself a coffee from the cafeteria, and that we were all to behave ourselves in her absence. Little did she know that all hell would break loose.

The moment she was out the door, Hans, the class trouble maker, hatched his scheme. I could see it in his face without him even having to mutter a single word.

Oh, yeah, _Hans._ Where to even begin? He was an envoy of destruction. An agent of chaos. Of every person I had ever met in my entire life, I could name at least one positive trait they embodied. One thing that I liked about them. Hans? _Nothing._ Totally loathsome and without virtue. He lived to cause chaos.

He was my ex. But, we're not going to get into that right now. Trust me, we're going to learn all about that bastard Hans. I didn't know it yet, but he was going to be one of the key figures in this entire shitstorm. This is merely the first act of annoyance by a guy full of irritating traits.

He shifted back in his seat, glancing to the back of the room. _Oh, no, please don't,_ I pleaded internally. Fuck with anyone, but not the new girl. She didn't deserve it. I knew Hans well enough to know when he was going to ruin everything.

"How's the view from back there?"

_Silence._

He was talking to Elsa.

Every synapse in my body was pleading me to stop him, before he launched into his verbal assault, but I knew Hans. He wasn't going to let it go so easily. Trust me when I say this, when Hans wanted something accomplished, he would do everything in his power to assure it got done. He was the most stubborn, defiant person I have ever met. If Hans was on your scent, you were pretty screwed. Rest assured, this was not his only attempt at ruining Elsa's life.

Elsa ignored Hans like he didn't even exist, doodling peacefully like she didn't even hear him. She probably didn't, considering how loud her music was.

"Excuse me? Yo, Nosferatu, I asked you how the view was back there."

Someone interrupted him._ "Leave her alone Hans."_

"What? I'm just asking her what it's like back there."

_"Just leave her alone,"_ echoed two separate students. I wanted to join in that chorus but I knew that once Hans set himself on something, nothing could convince him otherwise.

Meanwhile, Elsa continued to draw as if she was the only person in the world.

"Like what are you fucking deaf or something? Too good to reply?" At this point three different students, including Kristoff, demanded Hans to just leave this poor girl alone.

He got up from his seat.

He walked confidently to the back of the class to where Elsa was sitting, and took a seat right beside her. He was acting like he owned the school, like he was top of the food chain. Knowing Hans the way that I did, he _was_ the top of the biting order. If school is the animal kingdom, then Hans was the majestic, unstoppable lion, the hunter who could prey on anyone he wanted to. If you have a lion chasing you, the only thing you could do was beg for a miracle, or at least, a merciful slaughtering. And this lion, well, he was dead set on Elsa.

"Mmmh. _Perhaps_ you didn't hear me all the way from the front? Anyway, I asked you how you were doing."

At this point, everyone, all 22 of us, had our attention focused to the back of the class. We stared in unison at Hans, seated next to the still drawing Elsa. At this point Elsa's composure was weakening. She shifted awkwardly in her seat, clearly uncomfortable at the situation. Her pale skin betrayed her reddening cheeks.

"Leave her alone, Hans." Kristoff was firm in his words. You didn't want Kristoff mad at you.

"Why the hell is everyone getting so dramatic for? I am just paying the new girl a visit is all. You're all the rude ones! For ignoring the poor thing. Thank god we have the class ambassador Hans here to greet the new student. Speaking of which, what's up Elsa?"

Hans turned his head confidently at Elsa, who was now visibly nervous.

"What are you drawing..."

Suddenly, Hans let out a loud cry.

_"What the fuck?"_

Hans launched frantically out of his seat, jumping a good foot away from Elsa. He darted back to the front of the class, joining the rest of the students. He acted like he just saw a dead body or something.

"The new girl is drawing _fucking corpses!_"

Elsa slammed her text-book shut, hiding her scarlet face in her folded arms on the desk. After that encounter, no one ever talked to Elsa again. She had been labeled. Branded. As one of _those_ girls. You know? The weird ones no one ever talked to. After class (the moment the bell rang Elsa exited the class as quickly as she could) Hans had told the entire class that when he looked over to see what Elsa was drawing, he saw her drawing some kind of gory art. When people were confused, he described that Elsa was drawing some "serial killer shit" and that she was the creepiest girl he had ever met.

The next day Elsa entered class again, sat by herself at the back, and didn't say a word. Even during open discussions and free time. When class was over, she left without even registering her existence to another person. This routine continued for over two weeks. No one, for any reason, ever talked to Elsa. People thought she was creepy, people thought she was weird, people even thought they sensed a cold lingering atmosphere around her.

The first week Elsa would come to class and would sit at the back of the class peacefully. Alone, but peaceful. Almost happy. After the Hans incident, she became increasingly depressed. Hans made it his civic duty to let everyone in school know what kind of freak this Elsa girl was.

One day, before class had even started, outside of the classroom, Hans launched into another of his diatribes against poor Elsa.

One of the other students attempted to defend Elsa. "Maybe she's just into like horror movies or something? It's not such a big deal."

"This _is_ a big deal! This was an honest to god cry for _help_. She drew some Columbine shit! Like look at her, she looks like she belongs to the motherfucking trench coat brigade. She's gonna come to class with a gun one day and Seung-Hui our asses!"

"Hans, if she's like, some kind of serial killer or something, wouldn't bullying her make you her prime victim?"

The expression on Hans' face was blank.

"She. Is. Fucking. _Evil!_" Hans made it his mission in life to slander Elsa, a girl who had never once done anything to harm anyone. And I stood idly by and let all of this happen. It haunted me inside. But that is the pecking order of high school... kill or be killed. Hans knew how to make a person's life a living hell and anybody that defied him suffered his wrath.

One day in the middle of class the principal buzzed the room.

"Um, misses Gerda?"

"Yes, this is me."

"Hello, this is the Principal speaking. I'm informing you that Elsa will not be attending class today." Our teacher paused, raising her eye brows in confusion.

"Er, how come sir?"

"Well it appears as if she is feeling ill. She will be going home instead."

"Not a problem, thank you."

_My heart sank._ Elsa wasn't feeling ill, I just saw her 20 minutes ago. She was actively avoiding class because of Hans. _That poor, poor girl._

By the end of class our teacher asked if anyone wanted to bring Elsa her work for the day. When no one volunteered, she insisted. "This is a very important chapter everybody. If Elsa misses this work she will be in a lot of trouble for Friday's test!"

_I volunteer._

"I... I would. I mean like, if I knew where she lived." I nervously wrestle a strand of hair behind my ear.

The teacher inspected a piece of paper on her desk. "According to this, she lives just a block down from where you live. It's on your way home."

_Oh god, how did I get myself into this?_ Thankfully I had to stay after class to get the work to give to Elsa, otherwise I'd be assaulted by Hans and his questioning. I decided it would be best if I just dealt with that the next day. At least that gave me a day to conjure up an explanation for all of this. If there's one thing I'm good at, it's pulling things out of my ass and thinking on my feet.

Though I wasn't even very good at that, as you'll grow to learn.


	2. My meeting with Elsa

Speaking of explanations... forget Hans. I needed to explain all of this to _myself._ Why, in all that is holy in this universe, did I volunteer to run this errand for Elsa of all people?

Because I was _obsessed_ with her.

The moment she walked into class I couldn't get my mind off of her. The way she walked past the rest of the class like a floating specter, the way she so elegantly took a seat without a thought in the world, even the way she quietly brooded at the back of the class.

Life is so ordinary. People come, _people go._ They escape your thoughts like the flicker of a candle.

A person like Elsa comes along once in a life time. She was special.

She wasn't like other people. Heck, the way people talked about her, I'm not even sure she _was_ a person. Every person has certain moments when they're not exactly cheery, but Elsa had this permanent chill around her. This sinister sense of foreboding where ever she carried herself. It wasn't menacing. It was very obvious that she didn't want to hurt anyone. But it was there. There was no mistaking it.

Since the moment I glanced at her black lace dress I knew in an instant that she was an extraordinary person. I couldn't explain how. Perhaps there was no explanation. She just was. I spent the next few classes looking back at her every opportunity I could. If this was all an act on Elsa's part, then she was the goddamn Meryl Streep of the class. No matter how many times I looked back at her, her composure never bulged. Not for a moment did she let her guard down.

She was beauty personified. She was the walking embodiment of human individuality.

_She was so alone._

I wanted to walk back there and comfort her the day Hans bullied her. I wanted to run back there in her defense. I wanted her to relax her head on my lap, resting peacefully as I listened to all of her problems.

And you want to know the most abnormal thing of all?

I didn't know what her voice sounded like. She had literally not said a single word to anyone. Not the teacher, not to Hans, not to any of her friends. _She didn't have any friends._

There's only so much mystery a single person can embody before she attracts a few curious suitors. Hans had scared off any normal person away from Elsa the way he had talked and described her, which I suppose, just left me.

So that's why I'm on my way to Elsa's house. All this time she lived just down the street from me. I had walked past her house a thousand times without ever even knowing it. It was a small house. The smallest house on the block. But I thought it was cozy.

_This was it._ This was the moment.

I stood on the sidewalk, facing her house. The house gave no ominous vibe like Elsa did. It was a sunny, quaint little place. It wasn't cold like Elsa was. It only vibrated with warmth.

I'm walking up the stairs now. The front door is facing me. Nervously, I knock on the door.

Nothing.

_Silence._

Deafening silence.

I knock again this time, much louder.

_Still nothing._

I knock with all the force I can, introducing a thunderous explosion of noise to everyone who must have been in that house.

Still... _nothing. _

I figured Elsa must be getting some sleep in her coffin. _It was time to leave._

The moment I put my foot on the first step down, I hear the sounds of locks being removed and the sound of a door being liberated.

_"Hello?"_

It was the softest voice I had ever heard. _It was Elsa's voice._

"Oh, um... _hi!_"

I'm not sure Elsa recognized me from class. I'm not even sure if she had ever observed or made notice of my existence before this moment. She stared back at me, obscuring most of her body behind the door. She stared at me like I was a burglar.

I continued. "So... um... yeah so we both have English together. I'm not sure if you know who I am but I sit at the front with that tall blonde guy... but anyway, so yeah, the teacher sent me to your place to give you the work for the day. Here."

I extended my arm forward, holding the folder that contained all the work for that day. I begged she would take it.

Anxiously, Elsa grabbed the folder away from me, not once ever coming away from that door. She cradled the door like it was body armor.

_"Thank you."_ She said these words with genuine sincerity in her words, like I had just donated my kidney to her. It was probably the only act of kindness any student had done for her in weeks. But you know what really made my heart flutter?

She smiled at me.

_Elsa smiled at me._

The brooding, lonely Elsa actually smiled at me. _So it was possible!_

"Wait!" I'm pleading with her, not asserting. "Wait, _please._" I continued nervously. "Um... so according to Miss, this is actually a pretty complex chapter, and more importantly, a lot of the material is going to be covered on the test this Friday... so she asked me to explain some of this stuff to you. It will only take a moment."

Elsa looked anything but interested. "That's fine, thank you, but I'm certain I'll be able to figure it out myself."

Dammit Anna, you're gonna lose her. _This is your only chance._

I throw every glimpse of sanity out of my mind and continue.

"Can I come in?"

I'm not sure why I said it. I'm not sure why any sane person would ever ask a complete stranger to come into their house. Perhaps nothing is sane about Elsa. Perhaps you have to throw all common sense out of the window when you're dealing with someone so extraordinary.

My face turned red. Visibly so. My ears are burning with the intensity of a collapsing sun. I didn't think such humiliation could ever be felt by a person while just standing around and talking.

Elsa stared at me like I just declared I was the queen of Pluto. Like the words that came out of my mouth weren't even English. _I was mortified._

"I.. um... actually I guess that isn't the best idea, is it?"

"Sure."

_Sure._ Elsa said _sure_. Elsa said sure to me! She backed up from the entrance and slid the door open for me to step in.

I'm not sure how I did it, but I was in Elsa's house.

"My bedroom is up stairs." This was her way of beckoning me to follow her. My head was racing. My mind was running. My stomach was twisting. What the genuine fuck was going on? Why would she let me in? Why would she bring me to her bedroom?

_Maybe she really was that lonely._

We were in her room. It wasn't like the rest of the house. It was dark. The walls were painted black. The window was closed. It was freezing. But I didn't mind. _It was Elsa's room._ It smelled like her.

The rest of the house was normal. Beige walls, average furniture, average atmosphere. This one room, however, was paranormal. It oozed with character.

We talked. Talked about the assignment. I wasn't lying, our teacher really did ask me to explain certain things to Elsa. While I was doing this, she looked like I was telling her how to spell the word _blue._ She really did know all of this already.

We sat at opposite sides of the bed. As usual she was wearing all black. I was dressed in jeans and a sweater. Both of us had our hair braided, but there couldn't be more keeping us away from having anything in common.

As I explained each assignment as intricately as I could, Elsa nodded politely, never saying much. For someone allegedly so creepy, she was very courteous and sweet. Obviously very shy, but she seemed like she was so gracious for the company. It didn't look like she had many acquaintances.

After the assignment had been thoroughly explained, a tense silence fell over the room. Elsa was busy writing and I sat there awkwardly, looking for something to say.

"Are you feeling better?"

_"Pardon?"_

"Are you feeling any better? You were sick."

"Oh, yes." Elsa looked like she had forgotten. "I'm feeling much better now, thank you."

Another awkward silence overcame us.

"I don't even think you know my name, do you?"

Elsa shook her head.

"I'm Anna."

"Oh." She pulled her face away from the paper she was writing on and geared it in my general direction. She smiled again. "Pleasure to meet you Anna."

_She smiled again._ There was something so unusual about her smiles. You had to earn her smiles. She only smiled when it was absolutely imperative. She was not liberal with her smiles, which made her smiles even more rewarding.

Fuck this small talk. I wanted to grab her, hold her, tell her everything was going to be fine. She looked so alone even in her own bedroom. So desperate for company that she would let a complete stranger into her house.

"Why are you staring at me?" She said this in such a matter-of-fact way it made me blush.

"I-er, I'm sorry. It's just that..." _I love you._ I love everything about you. I want to rip the clothing from you and be consumed by your gushing flesh. I want to inspect your naked skin with my own. I want to grope every inch of your existence. I want to hear your breathing fluctuate as I tease your open tendrils.

_But obviously I wouldn't tell her that._

"I'm just... I was shocked when you said I could come in." Elsa paused for a fraction of a second before continuing with what she was writing. _What the hell is she writing that is so important?_

I decide to rip my foot out of the grave I just stepped into, and plant it firmly into my own ass.

"You haven't said a single word to anybody this entire semester and now I'm sitting with you in your bedroom." _Why the hell did I just say that?_ What is it with me and saying stupid things when I'm nervous? Why cant my brain function properly? What is so fundamentally fractured with my brain that I say such ridiculous things?

Elsa answered my stupid musings anyway.

"You looked nice."

_I looked nice._ I looked nice?

_You look ravishing._

We sat in silence some more. This time however the silence was comfortable. We weren't quite friends but she didn't seem to be offended by my existence or anything. It was a tranquil vibe.

"I have to get something off the stove, did you want anything?"

"No, thank you, I'm fine."

"I'll be a few moments."

I was alone again. _In Elsa's room._ She was going to be absent for at least a decent while. My head started to spin. I analyzed the room. It was truly just like her. _Black._ The dressers and the furniture were a solemn brown. They complemented the walls. I looked around. Did she really only wear black? I inspected the room closely. Looking for anything that could give away her secrets. It was very neat. _Bizarrely_ clean for a teenage girl.

I didn't see any spare pieces of clothing lying around, nothing. There was, however, only one drawer in the room. And a large wardrobe. I quietly got up and opened the wardrobe, lifting the heavy doors as silently as I could muster.

_If she catches you..._

I looked into the wardrobe. _Black._ All black. Black dresses, shirts, pants... all black everything. Such beautiful clothing though. Such fine embroidery. Such lovely patterning. I didn't have much time to scrutinize her clothing. Time was of the essence. I closed the wardrobe as softly as I had opened it.

_That drawer._ A perverse thought entered my mind. That must be where she keeps her... _more intimate clothing._ My face reddened even though I was the only person in the room. In this cold, dark room. It was so cold in here I couldn't imagine how any person could actually live here, it was completely uninhabitable.

My heart plunged. I grabbed the top shelf of the drawer. The room wasn't very big. I knew there could only be one thing inside of it. I opened it, again silently, looking down at its contents.

_I am looking at Elsa's underwear drawer._

_What am I doing?_ What is wrong with me? I just could not help myself. I knew this was immoral. I knew it was gross, but my curiosity got a hold of me.

Unexpectedly, I hear a voice behind me. _"What are you doing?"_


	3. I think I might be in love

_It was Elsa._ My skeleton popped through my skin. My heart jumped out of my chest. My head pulsed with such intensity I could feel my eye lids peeling off. My face burned so red I thought that someone had thrown boiling water on my face.

"I was looking for a pencil," I deadpanned, putting on my strongest poker face.

"You're looking for a pencil... in a clothing drawer?"

It was a stupid response on my part but it was the best I could come up with in such a moment. Her pencil-case was sitting plainly on the bed so no, it wasn't a very good response. _This is why you don't look into someone's underwear drawer, you idiot._

"I can be pretty ditzy sometimes, sorry."

Elsa seemed, surprisingly, to buy my excuse. Or perhaps she didn't want to exacerbate the situation and make things even more awkward. Perhaps she spared me the humiliation intentionally. _Maybe_ she was so far into her own studies she couldn't afford to spend a second thinking elsewhere.

She came back with a tray holding two bowls of soup. I sat on the bed with her, still blushing quite deeply, and it seemed that Elsa shared my embarrassment. She looked like she was blushing a slightly lesser shade of scarlet as myself.

We moved on. _She let it go._

I could understand her embarrassment. I had just, inadvertently or not, investigated her underwear drawer and it's obvious why she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable about the situation. I mean I wouldn't talk to someone who just stared at a drawer of my thongs either.

Which, by the way, were all black. Black and mostly lacy.

After a few moments we were back to normal basically. We drank soup together. It was delicious. It was the perfect food too, because goddamn was it cold in there. She drank every table-spoon effortlessly without making a single noise. I slurped up each spoon like a Neanderthal. She drank like she lived. Muted. Graceful. Every single thing she did, she did it perfectly. She made an activity as mundane as drinking soup into a national exhibit. _She was completely flawless. _

Carefully, I took a spoon of broth and drank it as quietly as I could... until I made a loud, obvious slurping noise that crashed through the room.

Elsa giggled. She giggled a soft, beautiful laugh.

_Oh my god._

_Oh my god._

_I made Elsa laugh._

I mean, she was laughing _at me_, but it was a start. Courtship has to begin somewhere, doesn't it? _And what a beautiful, adorable laugh. She has the cutest laugh of anyone I have ever met. I might be the first person in the world to hear it._

I laughed too. We were laughing _together._ _We were laughing together!  
_

We ate the rest of the meal together in silence once again. When we were done, Elsa collected our bowls and spoons and brought the tray down back to the kitchen.

"I better not catch you looking through my bras or something this time," she joked. I was mortified. But at least, in some obscure way, it seemed like she was liking me! She was even joking. The temptation burned, but obviously I stayed seated.

When she returned, she had a big smile on her face. "Was I too fast this time?"

We both laughed this time. We were laughing at _me,_ but at least we were having a good time together. How I managed to humiliate myself in front of someone so socially awkward as it is, I will never know.

I looked at my watch.

_Holy shit._ It was nearly nine. Where did the time go? "I should be leaving," I announced. Elsa nodded.

She walked me down stairs.

"I had a lovely time." _That is an understatement._

"I did too," she assured me. _Oh my god really?_ I could die. Truth be told, even though we were just sitting around awkwardly, doing absolutely nothing, it was the time of my life. Yes, an afternoon consisting of studying, uneasy silence, and embarrassment, was seriously the highlight of my month. Why?

_Because I got to spend it with Elsa._ I would have gone for a hike in Death Valley in a leather jacket if it meant I could have spent the time with Elsa. Even though I had just spent hours with her, Elsa was just as much of an enigma wrapped in a riddle as she first appeared to me.

We were at the door now. Elsa put her hand on my arm and smiled one last time. "It's been a pleasure."

_Oh my god._ _Elsa touched me._ She had her hand on my arm. I mean, her hand was freezing cold and it sent a shiver down my spine, but still. _We've made contact._

"Bye, Elsa."

She nodded. "Bye bye Anna."

_"Um..."_

"Yes?"

I cleared my throat. "Um."

"Spit it out, Anna," she snickered.

_She wants me to spit it out._ I want to ask her to the mall tomorrow. I want to ask her if I could be her best friend (well, only friend). I want to ask her if I can stay the night even though I live 2 minutes away from my house. I want to ask her why she only has black clothing. I wanted to cut open my mind and spill out all these aching questions to her. But I knew I couldn't.

But still, I needed to think of something to say. "See you in class tomorrow?"

"If I'm feeling better, of course."

_I paused._ "You know... you don't need to be afraid of attending class. Hans isn't as scary as he appears." _That's a lie._ Hans is much scarier than he appears. I was terrified of him.

Elsa cocked her head. _"Pardon?" _In retrospect, it was a stupid comment.

"I mean... you don't need to make excuses not to come to class. You'll be fine." I said this sheepishly, like I knew it was a stupid statement the moment it exited my mouth.

"Make excuses?" She genuinely looked confused. "Anna, I was feeling sick before. I still don't feel all that well. Why do you think I was drinking soup?"

_Maybe you caught a cold in that freezing room of yours._

"Oh, well, that's great then! See you soon."

_"Wait!"_ She demanded, not asked. "What are you talking about?"

"It's just that um..." _Oh god when I am nervous, do I ramble._ "It's just that ever since Hans... um..."

"Humiliated me in front of everyone in the class?"

I looked down, defeated. "Yes." If Elsa can admit what happened, why can't I?

Elsa look equally defeated. Shame dancing on her face. "Look... what Hans did to me- what he said about me, and all that, I'm not going to let it affect my grades. No force on earth is going to prevent me from attending class. Especially not some bully."

Elsa was strong. She was proud. Do you have any idea what it's like minding your own business when suddenly you're humiliated in front of a class room of people? To have your pride yanked away from you like some kind of animal. I could see the hurt in Elsa's eyes though. She attempted to mask it. But that kind of thing scars you deeply. Scars that are carved so deeply that they cannot so easily be hidden.

This poor, innocent thing. I wanted to take her hand. March out this door with her, find some mountain and climb it with her. Live with her alone, away from this whole mess. Protect her. Shield her.

It was obvious that Hans had broken her spirit. She was peaceful at first, but now she dreaded class. Dreaded stepping foot into that school. Whether or not Elsa wanted to admit it, I could see her weakness. She was beautiful, and amazing, and brilliant, and I loved every fiber of her being, but she was _afraid._

Finally I spoke. "Good." _It's all I could muster up. _"Maybe I could sit with you tomorrow? Or you could sit with me? Kristoff would move, he could sit behind us."

Elsa nodded her head. For some reason she didn't want that. Even though being more sociable would solve everything, Elsa wasn't going to bite.

_I want to make all her problems go away._

"Bye Anna." Elsa looked like she had enough of me for one day.

"Bye Elsa." _I love you._

I walked out. She waved at me.

I was now at the bottom of the stares. "See you soon."

She nodded, smiling. _I love you._

It's time for home now. _Oh god._ So much to think about. How amazing she is, how adorable her smiling and giggling is, how nice she is. How we laughed together over stupid shit. Her face. _Her hair._ That other worldly chill that seems to follow her everywhere. I couldn't name a single thing about Elsa that didn't drive me up the wall with lust. I wasn't walking home, no, I was _running._ I wanted to be in my bed again.

I rested in bed, memories of my day filling my head. _Memories of Elsa. What an amazing day._

I was so pleased I finally got to talk to her. After obsessing with her for a week, I got to actually meet her. She more than met my expectations. _She was perfect. _Any other person in the world would have thought she was odd and creepy, but I was just insane enough to be charmed by this wicked young lady. She was unlike anyone I had ever met. She was like an angel who dropped out of the sky and was spending a lunch break here on Earth.

She was fascinating. I would have listened to her reading a phone book. I was obsessed with her before, and after spending a day with her, I knew my obsession was only going to grow more desperate. For the foreseeable future, Elsa was going to be my entire life. _Whether or not she knew it yet._

Her beauty, her grace, her uniqueness... her... her... underwear drawer. _Oh god, Anna, don't go there._ I'm trying to defy my own urges. I'm failing miserably. My hand is up my shirt. My jeans are unbuttoning themselves. My hand is in my... _oh my._ _What is this Elsa girl doing to me._ As I explode with pleasure, the last image dancing in my head is of her. _Elsa._ She is actively haunting me now. Stalking my mind. I can't even masturbate without her influence. I picture her in my room with me, guiding my hand. Our breaths drawn together. She barely knew anything about me and probably expected to never see me again, and yet here I was, having masturbatory fantasies involving her.

_Maybe Elsa wasn't the weird one. _

I don't know why. I have no explanation for this. Perhaps there _is_ no explanation. Perhaps I am merely pathetic enough to fall in love with someone I barely know. _Perhaps_ Elsa isn't the only lonely one.

_I'm finished now._ I've been done for a while. I'm too weak to attempt it again. I want to because I'm still crazy about her, but my body won't collaborate with me.

I change out of my clothing. I'm tired. Aching. Exhausted. _I want to die._ I want to drop dead. Not out of depression but out of happiness. This was the happiest day of my life. Pathetic, isn't it? I know tomorrow can only bring disappointment. I don't know what I would do if Elsa isn't there tomorrow. I was going to think about her non-stop until I talked to her again. I hope it wasn't long.

_Fuck. I was in love with Elsa. _


	4. That was quite dramatic

Elsa was the girl of my dreams. _Literally._

I collapsed deeply into sleep that night. That evening, after our "date" together, I had dreams about her. It was like Elsa pumped my blood with anesthetic. I was comatose. I drifted into a vast unwavering sleep. Elsa was my drug. _My narcotic._

The dream was weird. You know, like most dreams usually are. I was in the woods. The cold, dark woods. _It reminded me of Elsa._

I was running, but I can't remember why. All I recall is that I was sprinting in any random direction. Running as fast as I could. Running from what, I can't remember.

After a while I saw her. Standing in the distance. The glow of the moon was illuminating her. She was a living torch, lighting the blackness of the night. I did the only thing I could. I ran to her, begging for her to help. It was like a moth to a flame.

I'm not sure what I was afraid of. It was a dark, nameless force that beckoned like the apocalypse.

I wanted to feel her skin.

_Help me Elsa, please._

I approached her, begging for her touch. There was nothing more that I wanted than just to be with her.

_Then, suddenly, it changed._ I wanted nothing more than to be _away_ from her. The sirens of hell screamed in my head and I ran away from Elsa. She turned towards me. Her face was a black hole. A solemn gaping wound where her beauty once was.

I ran away from her, from my Elsa. I don't know what she was, where I was. This was not a dream. _A nightmare. _A gorgeous nightmare I was now apart of.

I looked back and the thing that I thought was Elsa wasn't following me. I ran away from it, more terrified than I was before. I ran through that forest, suffering horror after horror. It was a never ending endurance test that I was trapped in. It was an infinite maze and I was running around like a lab rat.

_I woke up._

Heavy beads of perspiration stained my face and bed sheets. It was all just a rotten dream. _My Elsa was beautiful._ She was caring. She was a delicate, fragile flower. She could never hurt me. It was just a nightmare.

Or was it... a _premonition? _

* * *

Before I knew it, it was time to get ready for school. Didn't get much sleep despite how early I went to bed. I got dressed, ate breakfast, and walked to school without much conscious thought. It was all just reflexes by now. I was so bored of this routine I was looking for anything that could bring some excitement into my life.

It was a murky day. It wasn't quite raining, but it was one of those days where it felt like it could rain any moment. The threat of a torrential downpour loomed over our city. It was freezing outside. As I was walking I noticed something peculiar.

_Was it snowing?_

Yes, it was snowing. In October. It usually didn't snow until January... and now it was snowing, in the middle of October, after a perfectly mild week of weather? It made no sense.

For once I was pleased to finally get to school. It was absolutely freezing outside. It made me think of _her_. Mysterious little Elsa. _Where was her locker?_ Dammit, if only I knew, I could talk to her before class. I only had class with her in the afternoon. I would have to suffer through the entire morning plus lunch, before getting to see her again.

Math was first. A painless enough of a class. Then came second period. Science, a class I had with Hans and Kristoff. I saw Hans on the other side of the room. He was planning something. Whispering to his friends. Plotting something sinister, I was sure.

He was angry.

_"And then we're going..."_

_"...she'll probably try to..."_

_"We'll let her go when..."_

They were definitely planning something. What, I'm not sure. I knew it had to be about Elsa, I just knew it. If only I could warn her. I have no idea where she is. I don't know her locker, or her phone number. I can't text her. I can't plead to Hans to leave her alone, he wouldn't listen. A sense of unbelievable dread formed in the pit of my stomach. _Please, Hans, just leave her alone._

Then I heard something that terrified _every inch of my body_. It ripped my still-beating heart out of my chest.

_"The snow queen is going to get..."_

I didn't hear the entire sentence. I didn't need to. I knew who they were talking about. _The snow queen._ It was Elsa. They called her the snow queen because of that sense of cold that followed her everywhere she went.

_They were talking about my Elsa._

I glanced over at Hans. He stared back at me. I knew why this was happening. _Because of me. _I volunteered to bring Elsa her notes yesterday. This, for some ridiculous reason, must have angered Hans. That's why he is acting now. This is all my fault. This is all on me.

The bell rang. Class was over.

I bolted to the door. I had to find Elsa before Hans did. Maybe she didn't even come to school today? I jogged through the school, through the masses of students exiting their classes, looking for Elsa. I couldn't find her. _I panicked._

I ran to her house, knocked on her door. Begged, pleaded, screeched for something to open the door, but to no avail. There was no one in that house. Not a soul. _Elsa was at school._ Hans must have known what classes she had, he was such a melodic planner. He never would have acted unless he was absolutely sure every last potential thing had been accounted for. I ran back to school, begging that nothing had happened to my precious Elsa.

The air was so thin. _So cold._ It was still snowing and I did not plan ahead for such irregular weather. I had no winter jacket. My legs were tired but I had to move forward. Exhaustion was no excuse when Elsa's well-being was on the line. My heart burned, my chest pounded, but I had to keep moving.

Finally I got back to the school. The air was different. _Something_ was different. The usual bickering and mass of noise that littered the halls had quieted down. There was this menacing vibe that filled the hall ways.

I heard a scream. It was in the cafeteria.

I ran to see who the scream belonged to. I knew the answer already.

I pushed the cafeteria doors open, sensing around to find the origin of the scream.

_It was Elsa._

She was humped over, bleeding.

I saw Hans and his goons. Laughing. They had stripped her partially. Beaten her. Humiliated her and disgraced her publicly.

Hans stood there. With that wretched women Rapunzel. Rapunzel stood next to her boyfriend Eugene, another despicable sack of human waste. Elsa was crawling away from them when one of the male friends of Hans approached her, looking as if he was about to strike her again. These were not your usual schoolyard beatings though. This was a violent, furious assault against Elsa. They were going to seriously injure her unless someone intervened.

I looked around. People were in masses staring, laughing, applauding. _These horrible people._ Where were the authorities? This was complete madness. _World War III had started when I was away._ Complete and utter anarchy and I would have absolutely none of it. I ran towards Elsa, pleading for him to get away from her. I grabbed Elsa, holding her upright. Clutching her in my arms. My beautiful Elsa, bleeding, half-naked, treated like some kind of animal by these disgusting people.

_It was all my fault._

"Anna get the hell away from the snow queen, you're going to get hurt." Han was concerned for _me._ I'm holding this quivering mess of a person and his heart was only bleeding for _my_ sake.

I inspected her. She wasn't bleeding very badly. It only looked like she was struck once or twice. Fortunately there was no blood on her face. Even the slightest bit of suffering inflicted to my Elsa was enough to break my heart.

"Can you walk?" Dazed, Elsa nodded.

"Seriously Anna, let go of her." _That smug prick._

_I'm not leaving her!_

"Elsa, please, get on your feet, we have to run." She looked at me like she was about to fall unconscious. The atmosphere was filled with dread. It was freezing. Bellow zero, literally. I was shivering. It felt like it was about to snow in doors.

When it was clear that Elsa wasn't going to be able to move, I grabbed her tightly.

_I'll stay with you, Elsa, until the end._

I know that Hans isn't going to hurt me. If I hold Elsa tightly enough, I might be able to save her too. It was the only desperate idea I had left. _Something came to save us, though._

A gust of wind poured through the cafeteria, a torrent so strong it lifted Hans and his friends off of their feet. It was blowing so strong it was like a hurricane. People were collapsing, being thrown against the wall. There was no visibility whatsoever. I gripped Elsa with all my might. It was so cold I could barely feel her, but I knew I was still gripping her. I could feel her warmth, even in all of this cold.

_I closed my eyes. I fell unconscious. Moments passed. _

_"Are you ok?"_

It was Elsa. Where was I?

"Are you alright Anna?"

"I-I-I think so." Truth be told I had no idea. I looked around. We were still in the cafeteria. The floor covered in snow. The windows of the cafeteria were all broken. Shards of glass covered the floor. The lights were ripped away from the ceiling, cluttering the floor. A small fire warmed the room. It must have been an electronic fire caused from the broken light fixtures.

Elsa was now the one holding me. She was fine. A little bloody, but perfectly fine beyond that.

She was standing right in front of me. She was mostly naked from the waist down. Her dress ripped, she was standing in her underwear mostly. Her blood poured down her pale, naked legs.

_I'm seeing Elsa in her underwear... and I'm too cold to enjoy it._

She explained to me that everybody had abandoned the cafeteria when the gust of wind smashed all the windows and the lights collapsed from the ceiling. We were alone now. Alone in this cold, abandoned school. The school was now partly buried in the snow that entered through the broken windows. A wasteland.

Only us two remained. _The only survivors of World War III._

I had some extra clothing in my backpack, which was now ruined from the snow anyway. She put on the drenched clothing I had in my backpack, though she didn't seem to mind. The cold never seemed to bother her anyway.

We limped back to her place since it was the closest. She helped me to her bed. I wanted to stay awake to comfort her after everything that had happened, I really did, more than anything. I was fighting with my own eye lids, a battle I couldn't win. I collapsed from exhaustion. My body was destroyed. But I was with Elsa.

_I was with Elsa._


	5. TV dinners during the apocalypse

So many details of that day still escape me. A freak blizzard had hit Arendelle. We had record winds. Record snow fall. Tremendous gusts of wind were reported everywhere, knocking down power lines, smashing unsecured windows, even tipping over cars.

I remember waking up though. _Elsa was there with me._ Not in bed with me, but she was sitting beside me. She must have watched me while I slept. I was still weak. It was hard recovering without warmth by my side.

But when I saw the concern on Elsa's face I melted. I got out of bed. Tried to, anyway. Elsa wouldn't let me.

"You have several scrapes Anna. Your leg looked pretty hurt. Please stay in bed."

I was hurt?_ I_ _was hurt?_ Didn't you see yourself, Elsa, bleeding, a mess on the floor? Now she never looked better. Like she was revived from the dead.

_What... what was she?_

I shifted in bed. It was cold in that room, but yet somehow warm and comforting in Elsa's bed. It smelled like her. I noticed something. I was... naked?

_I was naked in Elsa's bed?_

I was too exhausted to be embarrassed.

While I didn't say anything, the look of discomfort was apparent on my face. It was now Elsa's turn to flush.

"You were freezing cold when you passed out. You could have caught hypothermia if I didn't do something. All of your clothing is in the wash." She looked down, a little embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I didn't know what to do."

I was so weak. I couldn't move. My body was numb and my senses were still too tired to reply. I shifted back to sleep.

Elsa was there with me. I could have died that day, and been happy.

The next time I awoke my energy was back. I was ready to get dressed and leave.

I couldn't, though. The roads were white. The air was white. Everywhere I looked, the blizzard had consumed all signs of life. I couldn't leave Elsa's house. The snow was piled seven feet deep.

But there was nowhere else I wanted to be.

"I kinda want to get dressed now."

Elsa laughed. "Your clothing is still in the wash." _Oh my god._ I am Elsa's naked little prisoner, bound to her bed. She got up, fetched a sweater and some jeans from her wardrobe. "Here. Um, in the meantime, just put on some of my clothing. It will have to do."

I looked at the pants and the sweater. Both black. Of course. _But warm._ And they both smelled like Elsa. What more could I ask for?

"I'll give you some privacy."

"But wait Elsa... what about... _underwear_?"

"I thought you could get your own, after all, you know where my underwear is." Elsa smiled at her own joke. I laughed back.

In a very unusual way, me and Elsa had gotten to know each other very well in such a short period of time. We kinda saved each other's lives, after all.

We survived the storm together.

She told me she lived with her Dad. He would disappear for weeks at a time, allegedly. She didn't mind though, since he supported the both of them. Apparently he was quite wealthy. You never would have guessed it from the way Elsa dressed or carried herself.

We watched some terrible horror movies on television together. There was nothing else we could do. On the bright side, at least the power wasn't effected by the blizzard of the century. We had enough food in the house to last us a lifetime. It was bliss. Just me and Elsa together. _And oh my god_... I was wearing her underwear. Her bra size was larger than mine by an entire size. I had to wear one of her older ones. What a weird day, but it was _wonderful._

"Oh... _Friday the 13th_ is on later. Let's watch that!" Elsa's face lit up at the proposition. She loved horror movies.

Those drawings? The ones that so deeply unnerved Hans? They were drawings of her favorite scene from _Friday the 13th Part 3_... or something. She explained it all to me like it was nothing. So she liked to draw her favorite scenes from slasher flicks. It was peculiar, but nothing to be afraid of. Hans had painted her as some kind of villain, some kind of force of destruction. She was a dorky girl who liked older movies.

She was the softest, warmest person I have ever met. Not literally... she was freezing to the touch. But as a person, she was the most gentle friend I had ever known.

Every mystery that once shielded Elsa away from me was now unraveling. She was opening up to me. She was being herself. We had a wonderful game of 20 questions.

"Elsa... um... you know this whole exchange student business? What's up with that? We've never had a student join the semester that late."

"My dad bribed the school board. That's why they were so vague about it. They wanted me in classes as soon as possible."

_"Oh."_ That kinda made sense.

It was her turn.

"How do you know Hans?"

_I gulped._ Not an easy question to answer. _The guy who tried to kill us both is my ex._ "He's my - er, ex." Elsa did not look pleased. I assured her that it was entirely in the past. I hated him more than anyone now, especially because of what he did to my precious Elsa.

Well, I left the "_precious Elsa"_ part out of my explanation obviously. She seemed satisfied enough with that answer. What a chill girl. So relaxed, the least judgmental person I had ever known.

Elsa took another turn. "Are you seeing anyone now?"

I took a moment to answer this. I wanted to answer it carefully. "No. Not a soul. Not a single _boy_ I am interested in." She nodded.

"What about you Elsa? Anyone?"

_Please god say no._

"No."

_Yes yes yes yes yes!_

She looked solemn now. "I've never had a boyfriend."

How could this beautiful, amazing person be single? Unless she... unless she was a lesbian, I mean. That didn't seem to be the case by the way she answered that question. It didn't seem like she had any kind of relationship history as it was.

Then it donned on me.

_Elsa was a virgin._ At least I assumed she was. Maybe she had... done things with men, but simply not dated them. Maybe she was the town whore and everybody but me knew it. I wanted to know this for certain. But how?

"Are you a virgin then Elsa?"

_Subtle_, Anna. _Subtle._

She nodded. Visibly embarrassed. Wow, she really was alone.

Eventually we tired of these questions. Apocalyptic snowfall brings many things, most notably, overwhelming boredom. We watched the entire _Evil Dead_ trilogy together. The similarities were a little unsettling. A group of young adults trapped in an isolated place together. Luckily Elsa never started biting me or tried to stab me with a pencil.

It was 2 AM. What the fuck did going to bed matter, it was going to be a snow day. Likely a snow _week_. I had taken a 5 hour nap during the day. I wasn't tired. It was cold though. Eventually me and Elsa started cuddling. Thank god I wasn't wearing my own underwear.

Cuddling with Elsa was like cuddling with a block of ice. A beautiful, sexy block of ice though.

Time stopped. There was no more time. The snow must have been 10 feet tall now. Everybody who wasn't hoarding inside of their own house must have been dead now. This was the rapture. I didn't care. I was nestled next to Elsa.

_She was so fucking beautiful._

I rested my head against her shoulder. She didn't mind. I drifted off to sleep soon after. I begged for my eyes to stay open. I wanted nothing more than to stay awake with Elsa and spend the rest of the night by her side, mesmerized by her infinite beauty. I had never been happier in my entire life.

Several hours later, I awoke. For the third time in a row, I awoke next to Elsa. _I could get used to this._

As much as I loved cuddling with her, I wanted to check the weather. _Still snowing._

I was starting to believe that reckoning day was upon us. This was not a freak accident. This was not a weather anomaly. This was truly the end of the world. Dozens, possibly hundreds of people were probably dead from the snowfall. People who were trapped in their cars overnight, people who didn't have enough food to survive the night. Homeless people. Drifters. Anyone who wasn't tethered to a beautiful girl who dragged them back home. Anyone who wasn't as fortunate.

_They were dead._

This unfathomable dread hung in the air. Beyond these four walls, the world was ending. The world was ending and yet... here I was, with Elsa. As happy as could be. If this truly was the end of all life, I was blessed to be able to spend it with her. I couldn't think of a more beautiful way to die than spending it along side Elsa.

My beautiful, precious Elsa... I'm staring at her. _She's asleep._ Just as radiant unconscious as when she's awake. _God that sounds creepy._ I can't help myself. She makes me think irrational thoughts.

I should tell her how I feel. I mean, the world is ending anyway. What does it matter if we're going to die together.

My mind couldn't help but wonder away from Elsa. _Hans._ What about the students who couldn't get home in time? Elsa lived just a few blocks away from school. We manged to get home right before the downpour began. Most of the students from the fight would still be at school, wouldn't they? And with the windows blown open, it would be freezing in the school. Anyone still in there would probably be statues of ice now. Anyone who ran away from the school would have been in the middle of the storm.

This was a purge. Anyone who wasn't prepared for this... wasn't going to survive. I looked at Elsa. _Still asleep._

_Why is she cold? Why is her room like ice and yet the rest of the house warm and inviting? Why did that gust of wind come to our rescue just at the nick of time? Why did the weather never behave like this until Elsa joined our school?_

_So many questions._

You know... when the other students called her an alien, I thought they were just being rude. When they mused that she was some kind of supernatural monster; I didn't pay it any notice. Completely ridiculous. But this was the first time I thought to myself... maybe Elsa isn't human.

_No._

_That's the most ridiculous fucking thing I have ever heard._

Elsa? _My Elsa?_ The most gentle, fragile, beautiful person I have ever met?

Still though. The suggestion lingered in the air.

She moved in her sleep. _She smirked._ Whatever Elsa was dreaming about, it was a joyous thought.

The next day, just as mysteriously as the snow began, it ended. _The snow finally stopped._ It took several days for the current mountains to melt, but at least people could leave their houses. The cold vanished, too. It was like nothing had even happened.

Elsa was in such a lovely mood. I have never seen anyone so happy after such a catastrophe. It wasn't relief. It was just genuine, unadulterated joy.

We parted ways for the time being. It was time for me to go home. As much as I was thankful to Elsa for letting me wear her clothing, it was nice to be able to wear my own again. Colors! Sweet merciful colors. I'll miss her underwear though, it was ridiculously comfortable. And I'll miss sleeping with her, even though it was only because we kept falling asleep together.

Everything was different after that day. There were a few reported deaths. Heart attacks were the main cause of fatality. Ambulances couldn't come to medical rescue. And a few people did starve to death. But you know, it wasn't as bad as I thought. The death tally was remarkably low for such an unprecedented natural disaster.

Scientists claimed it was a fluke, an anomaly caused by global warming. Religious extremists blamed it on gay marriage. Politicians used it as a scapegoat, an example of what happens when people are not ecologically friendly. No one really knew what the fuck happened though. They can explain quantum physics and they can map the entire visible solar system, but they can't explain the origin of a single storm. _Weren't there like, people who's jobs it was to map and predict storms?_

People think that the term _paranormal activity_ only applies to ghosts and extraterrestrials. Paranormal activity can actually be used to describe any kind of unexplained event or phenomena. Elsa, for example. _She was paranormal._ The storm was paranormal. Everything about the past week was paranormal.

I was glad it was over. Happiest week of my life, but I am glad we could move on.


	6. Four vaguely related memories

When school returned to normal the next week no one picked on Elsa. People were actively afraid of her now. There was a rumor that Elsa was the one who caused the storm. Obviously, Hans started it. No one ever bothered Elsa again though. We reported what had happened in the cafeteria to the school officials and everyone responsible was suspended, and the two boys who had actually hit Elsa, were expelled. The cafeteria staff who were supposed to be on watch at the time were held responsible and fired.

Things were different. Elsa sat with me. The first day back, we walked into class together and sat right next to each other. Kristoff was fine with it. He was pleased for us both. He sat behind us. Like our guardian angel. When Hans returned to class about two weeks later, he never said another word to me or Elsa.

Elsa was still always shy but she made friends with Kristoff. No one else, but she did have us both. She never stopped wearing all black, but no one ever berated her for it. No on ever called her the _"snow queen"_ again.

It made it hard for her to make new friends... but that was fine with me, actually. _More Elsa for me. _I am so selfish.

I slept over all the time at her place. My mom didn't care. I never told Elsa exactly how I felt about her, but she couldn't be that oblivious, could she? I mean it's not like she had many friends... so likely she didn't really know what was abnormal for two female friends to be doing. It's not like we were having pillow fights in our panties and showering together or anything.

But maybe we were a little overly close. Yeah, ok, we undressed in front of each other a few times (Elsa was so adorably shy), but friends did that, right? No biggie?

One moment in particular stands out to me.

"Anna are you wearing my bra again?"

"Er, which one?"

"Why does that matter? Are you wearing any of my bras at all?"

I pondered for a moment. At this point there was no boundaries between us. I did wear her clothing here and there when I forgot to pack my own to our sleep overs, but she never seemed to be too concerned with it. "I think so. It's black, kinda lacy."

"Then it probably is my bra Anna, I need it."

_What? "_Why do you need this bra? It wouldn't fit you anyway."

"I know, but I'm washing all of my clothing _right now_." She had some neurotic, irrational habits, and this was one of them.

"Well I'm using it _right now_."

"_Anna._" She was demanding it now. The next thing you know Elsa is on top of me, wrestling me. Elsa was grabbing at my shirt, trying to pry the bra away from me. She's tickling me, although not on purpose. How did she know that my stomach was my most ticklish spot? Even the gentle brushing of her fingers against it started to make me howl with uncontrollable laughter. Not to mention that this entire situation was completely ridiculous, making me laugh even more.

_Oh my god._ She has her hands on my - er, _her_ - bra, groping me. I can't take this any more. _Elsa, if you don't get off me, I'm going to start kissing you._ She's now into the foreplay of it all. She's now tickling me completely intentionally. I can feel her fingers stroking against my ribs. My abs are being penetrated by her fingers. My own body is betraying me.

I think my breasts are entirely exposed now, I can't really tell. My eyes closed with the voluntary sting of laughter. _Please stop Elsa._

"Anna..." There is confusion in her words.

"...yes." _I've changed my mind. Please don't stop._

"Anna..." She is searching for her words now, distant. She is speaking with caution. She is on shaky ground, feeling out her steps carefully, as to not fall through the ice. "Why is your... _crotch wet?_"

_My eyes widen in terror. Oh god._ I was wearing shorts. Tight shorts. My body betrayed me even worse than I thought.

"I..."

"I'm..."

"You should..."

You could cut the tension with a knife.

Both of our faces grew red. Mine was red already because of the tickling though. It was such a completely _absurd_ situation.

Elsa kinda ran away from me after that. I looked down. Yeah, my breasts were out. _Great._

Later that night I made up a lie. I said my shorts were fresh from the washing machine and were still a bit wet. Yes, seriously, that was the best I could come up with. I'd rather have Elsa think I was a complete idiot and a dork than a pervert. She bought it. Maybe she didn't want to consider the alternative. Maybe she always bought my stories because she didn't want to face the reality of the situation. Without me, Elsa would be all by herself again, so she never really had any kind of choice in the matter.

_Your best friend is in love with you, Elsa._ Your room-mate. Your only friend, really. You know it. I know it. _We both knew it._

* * *

_Elsa is trying on a new dress. _

_H__er hips._

_Oh my god I cannot breath. _

_How does she make them sway like that._

* * *

Elsa was like a drill sergeant. Her routines became my own. I adopted all of her hobbies and interests. I absorbed her personality into my own like a sponge.

For example, Elsa liked to sit around watching horror movies. Beyond that she was a TV junkie. She quickly filled me in on all of her favorite shows. She explained to me the dynamics between Mulder and Scully like I was being tested on it. She demanded that I knew just as much about _True Blood_ as she did. Even shows I was vaguely familiar with, I had to re-learn everything like I was watching them for the first time again.

Elsa wasn't much for the outdoors. She said she didn't really like the heat. Is that why the air conditioning was always so high? She insisted it wasn't on at all. _Sure._

Our ventures outside were rare and uneventful. Sometimes I would insist (or in other words, _beg)_ that we ate out that night. We'd walk to a restaurant and have a good night out. Elsa hated alcohol. Like I mean she hated it like it was an uncle that ran over her dog. Whenever I would drink, I would have to take shots while Elsa was off to the bathroom. On one occasion, I downed four shots of Bacardi while she was off adjusting her make-up. When she returned I was in the middle of enjoying a vomit.

Elsa nursed me back from my hangover.

"Anna, if you want to drink, you can drink. I really don't mind."

"Yes you do."

"No, honestly, _I don't._ What concerned me more is when you lied about it."

She had a point. I nodded. Elsa and her twelve spinning clones were right. _Or maybe I was still just really drunk and the room is spinning._ Either way, she had a point. She didn't want me to keep anything from her. _Anything._

Other then, you know, the _biggest secret of all._

* * *

We went shopping once. Let me enforce the importance of _once_. It was _once._ Just that one time. It was a disaster. She needed some new shoes. I needed some new everything. I was out of work so I didn't have much money for luxuries. Usually I didn't _need_ any. I mean, I was living rent free with Elsa at this point. Any expenses were covered by her. She was my sugar daddy and I didn't even have to ask.

She was fine covering unimportant things like rent and food, but when it came to the crucial components of life, like _clothing,_ I was on my own. She had enough money to buy entire department stores. But I wasn't the begging type.

We spent about 5 minutes picking out her shoes. Black stiletto boots. Big shocker there. Sometimes I wondered how Elsa could walk in such ridiculously high heels. According to her, it was a natural talent.

Yeah, like people just wave their arms and know how to walk in high heels. _Sure._

The intricacies of finer shopping were lost on Elsa. She dressed lovely, and had an expensive arsenal of clothing and accessories, but all of her fashion choices were utilitarian. She dressed casually and comfortably. She wasn't interested in the finer things in life.

I'm not sure how Elsa realized I was interested in going into Tiffany's. Maybe it was my face pressed against the glass display of the store. But she decided we would go in.

"Nothing black."

"There are other colors besides black, you know."

"Yeah, the shitty ones."

"Are you describing blue, purple, and green as anything but amazing colors? Because if you are Elsa, we're going to have an argument here, and one of us is getting thrown through that display window."

Elsa rolled her eyes. "Life is so much easier when you weed out the unimportant things."

"You mean like the entire visual spectrum?"

Elsa was getting ready to tickle torture me again, I could feel it. "Fine. Let's look around."

So many amazing things. I would have lopped off an arm to own some of the things in that store. Elsa could have afforded everything, and yet didn't cherish a single thing. She truly was an alien.

We left the store without buying anything. We had spent such a long time in that store the clerks must have thought we were shop lifting or something. Elsa looked like she couldn't have been more bored from all of this and I looked like I had just lost a finger. Leaving all of that beautiful clothing behind killed me.

"What's wrong Anna?" Elsa was sincerely concerned.

"It's just that..."

Elsa could read me like a book. "Was there something you wanted?"

"A couple of things, to be honest. I didn't really have the money." Well, honesty was the best policy. Though honesty is preferred when it doesn't make you sound like a complete _l__oser_.

Elsa searched her head for the right response. "I would have bought you a few things, Anna."

_Why is she so amazing._ _What did I do to deserve someone so self-sacrificial, so inspiring, so perfect. She was like the goth Mother Teresa._

My silence answered her question for me. I wasn't a proud person but I wasn't about to beg or ask for something like that from my best friend. I couldn't take advantage of someone so stunning, even if she was offering.

"Look, Anna." An awkward pause from a girl who was full of them. "Let's go get some chocolate then? My treat?"

"I love chocolate."

"I know you do." _I love this blonde more than I love the air I breath._ "Come on, let's bring home a bag full."

"Can I eat some off of you like _last time_?"

"As long as you don't get any in my hair. Like _last time._" _Life is wonderful. _


	7. I love you, and stuff

Things were heavenly between me and Elsa. I mean yes there was your occasional awkward encounter - what relationship doesn't have its bumpy moments - but our bond was strong. _We were soul mates._ Companions. We would even sleep together. All under the label of friends, yes, but there was a true sense of connection between the two of us.

_Crimson and clover._

But in every healthy foundation, you will always start to see cracks. Cracks form faster when the foundation is stressed. We were about to stress the _fuck_ out of this foundation.

It started off innocently enough. We were watching a movie.

_Why is she staring at me. "_Elsa? Why are you staring at me?"

"Because you are missing the best part of the movie?"

She's completely right. I am. Elsa hates it when I text when we're watching movies together. I was having a conversation with Kristoff; the other blonde in my life. He was telling me about how some party was taking place over the weekend. A party to celebrate the end of the school year, a big year-end bash.

Elsa would never go with me. A fun weekend celebration was watching John Carpenter movies together. A wonderful, unforgettable weekend, and I never missed one no matter what else I had on the social calendar, but this was different.

"Anna, seriously, I'm going to kill you."

_Elsa pushed me out of my own thoughts._ "I'm sorry. I'll pay attention."

"You missed it Anna. Everyone is already dead." _What a tragedy that I missed that._ "What was so important on that phone of yours that you missed the best part of _Return of the Living Dead_?"

Our routine was becoming stale. I really liked horror movies, truly I did, but when you're watching them every single day it starts to wear thin. Maybe Elsa would understand cell phones a little bit better if she had other friends. _Wait, no, that was mean of me._

"Sorry Elsa. Can't we ever, like, watch a funny movie or something?"

"Comedy? You want _comedy?_ This is one of the best comedies ever!"

"Elsa, someone is getting eaten alive."

"But he's getting eaten alive in a _funny way_." Usually her macabre sense of humor always tickled my funny bone, but recently I just couldn't bring myself to laugh at all this senseless violence in these movies. I still loved Elsa with every beat of my heart of course, but she wasn't the most spontaneous person. To Elsa, strict regimen was the key to everything.

She continued. "So what was so important anyway?"

"Um." _Phrase this carefully._ "You know Kristoff right? Well he was telling me about a party this weekend."

"A party? That's no good. I think there's a Godzilla marathon Saturday."

I stared intently at Elsa. _This wasn't going to be easy._ This wasn't like ripping a band-aid off. You couldn't just do this with a quick, painless pull. This was something you were going to have to rip off at the roots.

"I'm going to go with Kristoff. You can come with too, of course."

Elsa looked disappointed, though not surprised. There was nothing that I hated more than having to see the look of displeasure on her beautiful face. Especially when the source of that displeasure was of my own doing. I would have dropped any social event in the universe to spend yet another afternoon watching horrible movies with my Elsa, but Kristoff was counting on me this time. I forgot that I actually did have other friends, and that they should be prioritized too.

After this, I'll spend the entire summer with my Elsa, _every_ day together.

"That's fine." _It was not fine._ _I'm so sorry Elsa._ Elsa looked defeated. She wasn't going to argue. She had no right to cage me and she knew it; she probably just assumed that she took precedent over everything else. She was nearly correct.

"I mean... you can come with!"

"No, Anna. _Go._ Have fun. _I'll be fine._"

I tied my arms around her. I embraced her with all of my warmth and she returned my generosity by showering me with all of her coldness. _She was distant. _I mean more so than usual. _A million miles away._ She was behaving as if I betrayed her in some way... it was a stupid party! And I was going with a friend. It was an innocent act of kindness on Kristopher's part, offering to go with me.

Elsa hugged me back. We held each other. This was the first time I ever felt like we had something beyond mere friendship. There was possession in Elsa's behavior. I was flattered.

_It turned out, Kristoff and his intentions were not so pure._ I found out the next day.

"You mean you want me to go... as your _date_?"

"Yes."

"Like a _date_ date?"

"Yes."

"Like boyfriend and girlfriend?"

"Well, last time I checked. I was a boy. And you, I'm fairly sure, are a girl. So yes."

_No._ Of course not. Never! I could never betray the implied bond me and Elsa shared. I could never do something like this to her. _Never._

"Sure, I'd love to go."

_I regretted it the moment I said it._ It was an impulse. It was out of a lack of thought. It was out of shock. It was out of my inability to hurt my friend by rejecting him. It was a million things, but most importantly it was not a betrayal of Elsa.

I loved Kristoff. But like a _friend_. The last thing I wanted to do was lead him on, but I was so shocked by his proposal that I answered him without thinking. My heart was running faster than my head. _God, I am an idiot._ The party is tomorrow. I can't turn him down now, he'd never find a date at this point. Plus, rejecting him like that would ruin our friendship. I loved Kristoff too much to hurt him like that.

I was screwed no matter what. Kristoff. Elsa. No matter what I did, I would hurt someone I cared about. I was stuck between a rock and a slightly bigger rock. I had to choose my poison carefully.

There are two kinds of people in this world. The ones that stay cool during a disaster, and the ones who freak out. _I was of the variety that freaked the fuck out._

The party loomed over me like an execution sentence. Soon it was Saturday, and it was time to get ready for the party.

"Hey Elsa!?"

"I'm down stairs. What is it?"

"I wanna ask your opinion on this outfit."

A moment passed and Elsa strolled into our bedroom casually, eating an apple. She threw herself onto the bed, and gazed up at my outfit, with an expression that screamed _I_ _kinda hate you right now but I'm here for you because you're my best friend._

I uttered an entire, rambling sentence in one breath. "Ok so Elsa, so I'm not sure what kind of party it's going to be so I decided to kinda just wear whatever would look good in a neutral setting. I really liked the black dress on the floor but I didn't really like how short it was. I tried the dress on with my stockings but I didn't like how they looked in my nicest shoes. So I'm kinda not certain what I should wear, what do you think of this?"

_"I love you, Anna."_

_Elsa shot me in the back of my neck._ My blood was pouring down on my new outfits, splashing down on my shoes. My heart burst where it rested in my chest. That was the only explanation. I was dying. _Elsa killed me and I was dying._

"Wait w-what?" I stuttered like an idiot.

"I love you." She wasn't looking at me. She was looking at everything in the room _but_ me. She wasn't eating her apple anymore.

"I..." In life you hear the expression of someone being "_speechless_" all the time, but in this moment, on this day, I was truly without anything to say. Words escaped me. I lost all concept of language. I reverted to a toddler again, incapable of forming coherent speech.

_She spoke for me._ "I just wanted you to know that, Anna."

She was pleading with me now. She was out of ideas. _Desperate._ An animal snared in a bear-trap, gnawing away at its own severed limb. Doing anything it could to survive. She was begging me not to attend this party. She probably would have said anything.

"I love you too, Elsa. I love you with all my heart." _Time to ruin this moment now._ "You're... you're my best friend."

"You're my only friend, Anna." She looked pathetic. _My Elsa._ The beautiful, perfect Elsa. _Pathetic._ Cowering on our bed, pleading me not to leave her.

The door bell rang. I guess Kristoff helped me make up my mind about what I was going to wear this evening. This tight little purple summer dress. It was a lovely choice.

"Bye bye Elsa."

I felt sick. I felt revolting. I hated myself. I wanted to strip this stupid dress off and jump on Elsa. Do anything but answer that door. It was a death sentence. The door was a guillotine. Kristoff was my executioner.

_"Bye Anna. Have a nice night."_

I walked down stairs. I opened the door. It was Kristoff.

"Damn girl. It's just some stupid-ass party. You're overdressed."

Let's go, _boyfriend_. Ugh.

He took my hand. Walked me to his car. As I fastened my seat belt, I looked out the window. Elsa was staring at us through the top floor window. _Alone._ Alone just like I first met her. Alone even after everything the two of us had been through. We held each other while I thought the world itself was ending, and now here we are, separate again. The air was cold. Colder than it had any reason to be. _It was freezing._ Freezing like Elsa. Her presence lingered in the air even though she was nowhere near. She stalked me where ever I went that night.


	8. Everything turns to shit

We were at the party. It was at Eugene's house, Rapunzel's rotten boyfriend. One of Hans' best friends.

_Hans was there._ How did I know? He was hosting the entire event. _Of course he was._

_His voice felt like daggers in my ears._

"Alrightttt everybody... ok. _Ok._ So, I had a few beers, I'm not gonna lie, but I ain't drunk. I had a little _sippy sippy_, that much is true, but I am not drunk. Mmkay?" He was slurring his words. His booming voice filled the air. The anticipation of loud music, alcohol and drugs brimmed in everybody's faces. I just wanted to drown my worries away.

Hans continued. "Alright so... ladies and gentlemen. I ain't gonna keep any of you, I know what we all came here to do. I just want to introduce to you all our DJ for the night. DJ Gaston."

_"No one DJ's like Gaston!"_ A chorus of laughter. _He flexed._ A chorus of female cheering. _He smiled._ The three blondes in the front row all cheered like they had won the lottery. I don't think it was unreasonable for me to say that Gaston was someone who got along well with women.

"Hey tell me something _mmkay_? Why do they call you _DJ Gaston_?"

"Cause nobody... get's it on... _like Gaston_!" This was his introduction to start playing loud, abrasive music. The thundering sound of party music vibrated the entire house. You could feel it in your bones, it was so loud. It drilled through my head.

The place was crowded head to toe with people. Some of the people there I recognized from school, but the vast majority of people here were strangers. It was hard to even breath with such an abundance of people. We were packed like sardines. It was the wildest club I have ever been to and it wasn't even a club. Who ever organized this party wanted to raise the dead.

I wasn't such a prude like Elsa. I have seen my fair share of parties. _I've done my fair share of partying._ This was something bigger though. _Much more intense._ A riot could break loose at any minute with the frenzy that was taking place in here. People were dancing, stripping, screaming. It was chaos. I just wanted to escape into that chaos and forget about how poor Elsa was alone at home probably crying.

Being inside of my own head was too painful. I wanted to escape. _To be free._ Mindless like everyone else here. There is freedom in this chaos, if you know how to find it.

Not long after, I was drunk. Kristoff was drunk. I lowered my guard, although not too much, considering the slimy piece of filth who I knew was attending.

I met up with some friends from school. Well, they were more like vague acquaintances, people I had shared one class with but never spoke to. But they were all high on something, and when you're high, everybody is your friend.

We were giggling like idiots. I think I was screaming. The music was so loud I couldn't have heard a gunshot.

This gorgeous black-haired girl appeared through the crowd. I knew her name was Snow White. Beyond that, I was clueless. Next to her was Belle, the local book-worm. I was surprised to see her here. On the far right was Ariel. Swim team captain. She had abs like you couldn't imagine. I'm glad Elsa had never met her before. One look at this ginger and she wouldn't want anything to do with me. Kristoff was by my side, despite the fact that he had long ago exited the conscious realm.

"Why do they call you Snow White?" somebody yelled.

"Because of this." She pulled a bag of white powder. I had a feeling what it was. Just to make sure, I tested it with my nose. Yes, it was cocaine. This was _not_ my first party. Even the resident stoner girl Alice was now joined in our circle. All the commotion attracted the attention of Hans.

"Hey ladies."

_"Hey Hans!"_

_"Hans boy!"_

_"My nigga Hans!"_

_I hate you more than anything._ If I wasn't both drunk and high right now, I would have told you that myself.

"Hey Anna." He was talking only to me now despite the crowd of people. "Didn't know you'd be here."

"She's with... she's with me."

"_Oh?_ You and Kristoff. What a lovely couple. Despite what issues I have with this blonde bag of bricks, he's a decent guy. Good for you." _Here it comes._ "Nice to see you prying yourself away from that wretched Elsa creature."

_How dare you._ I went to the bathroom. I could barely talk yet alone defend Elsa to that asshole Hans. God, this was not a good idea. At least it was quiet in the bathroom. No one screaming in my ear. I slid down the bathroom wall, catching myself on the cold marble floor.

_What was I doing._ Why am I here, away from my Elsa. Here with these people I hate, doing things I'll regret, listening to music being played way too loudly to enjoy. Is this what a party was? I'd take watching horror flicks with Elsa over this exercise in futility any day. _God I'm starting to sound like her._

Fuck this. I'm calling a cab and going home. My phone? I left it with Kristoff. I knew he wouldn't lose it.

I marched out of the bathroom, my aim clear in my eyes.

"Kristoff give me my phone."

"You told me not to give it to you, you said you'd lose it."

_"I'm leaving."_

"What?"

"I said I am _leaving,_ give me my goddamn phone."

"Are you sure? You really stressed the importance of me not giving it to you. You said you could not be trusted."

_"Give me my fucking phone."_

"Fine." His voice was aggravated. I didn't care. After tonight I was never going to see him again. He could burn in hell as far as I cared.

"Kristoff it's saying I have like 20 missed calls."

"Yeah they started when you were in the bathroom. You were in there for two hours."

_Two hours._

"Who were they from?"

"I don't think you want to know."

"Tell me."

"Anna..."

**_"Tell me!"_**

The room was spinning. My stomach was boiling with vile. My head couldn't survive another moment of this pounding music, it felt like my brain was splitting.

_"Wh-who called me?"_ Why am I asking such an obvious question. I only have one person in this entire world who cares about me, and I fucked her over. The answer was obvious. I needed to hear it. I needed the realization to sober me up.

"Elsa called you. I picked up the first few times. She was crying."

_She was crying._

_I was flying. I was soaring through the open sky. Looking down at every participant of the party. I had died and this was clearly my hell, my punishment for a life of sin._

I was running through the crowd, knocking people down. Hans yelled my name. Kristoff yelled my name. I was never seeing either of them again. It didn't matter. I called for a cab. Waited out side. _Freezing._ It was bellow zero and I was wearing a party dress.

The cab got there in under five minutes. I jumped in. The cab driver spoke to me, making your usual disposable small talk.

"Cold night isn't it? Came right out of nowhere." _Cold doesn't even begin to describe it._

He might as well have spoken Portuguese. His words entered one ear and spilled out the other.

Minutes ticked by like seconds. Life sped up. Details escaped me. I had to see my Elsa. _Comfort her._

We were there at her home. I didn't have any money with me so I told him I had to go into the house. I ran up the porch stairs, ripped the door open and found my wallet. I thanked him. I'm sure that in my haste, I had thrown a hundred dollar bill in his direction, which honestly wasn't that much higher than my tab. It was a long ride. _It was going to be an even longer ride until the night was over. It's just begun. _

I ran back inside. He thanked me in the background.

My mission didn't factor in anything else. It was Elsa, the only light in my world, who I was only concerned with. Nothing else mattered to me more than Elsa.

The lights were on. Elsa was awake. In the living room. As I inspected her, it was quite obvious that she had been balling her eyes out for the entirety of the evening. Her purple eye-shadow, which was usually expertly applied, ran down her cheeks. Her eyes were puffy and bloated. Her skin was greasy and sickly, probably from stress and perspiration. She was a mess. She looked like the type of corpse people were always comparing her to.

"Elsa," I whined. _"Please forgive me."_

She was stoic. She was livid. She searched for her words deliberately, which became daggers ripping away at my heart.

"Did you enjoy your evening," she deadpanned. I couldn't answer her. "Your boyfriend seemed to have enjoyed himself. I heard a lot of giggling in the background."

"What?" _It was an instinct._

"Kristoff. Apparently he's your boyfriend, now." She choked at the word _boyfriend_. It pained her to say it out loud. Stabbed at her like talons.

"Elsa you don't understand..." I'm crying now, fighting back waterfalls attempting to flow from my eyes. We're both crying.

"I made your favorite. Hot chocolate. I already drank mine." Every word she was using was picked carefully. She wanted to hurt me. _Me._ Elsa was trying to hurt me. Her everything.

_Why is she trying to hurt me? I could take that she was upset, but now that she is actively trying to hurt me, this is killing me inside. _

She extended her hand, holding the now cold drink towards me. I knocked the drink out her hand, and it smashed when it landed on the ground. Shards of glass embedded themselves all over the carpet.

_"What the fuck are you doing Anna?"_ Elsa is now screaming at me. I've ruined everything. I have ruined the only thing in my life that has ever brought me any meaning, that has ever produced any kind of happiness to me. My life is now over. I might as well pick up one of those glass shards and slit my own throat with them. There is no life without Elsa, only a void of infinite misery. I have to tell her how I feel.


	9. Like a virgin

_I can't think._ Logic has no meaning to me anymore. I only have lust. Confused, heart-broken lust. I have ruined everything.

The world is over, so I might as well just tell her how I feel before the last few precious moments of existence run out.

_I drop to my knees._ Elsa lets out a loud cry. My knees are now bleeding from the shards of glass decorating the floor. I don't care anymore. I bury my face into my own hands, masking what a pathetic, disgusting creature I am. I can't stand to have Elsa look at me anymore. I'm crying harder than I thought I even could.

"Elsa. You are my everything." It's hard to speak, but I use what is left of my energy to deliver this message. _It's my suicide note. My manifesto._ "I love you more than anyone. More than _anything_." I manage to pry my face away from my hands and look at Elsa. She is_ terrified._

"I'm in love with you Elsa." These words could be my last. I have nothing else to spill. I have taken a knife and carved open my chest, letting my still beating heart spill out to the floor. I have given up everything I have ever kept secret from her. I'm now open. _Naked to her._

"I'm such an idiot. Kristoff tricked me into the whole date." My words are slurred. My hiccups are drowning out any internal logic in this monologue. My words are broken, fragile like my heart. "I wanted more than anything to spend the night with you Elsa. You are my everything." I'm repeating myself now.

I can't stand to look at Elsa's response to this all. Each expression that paints her face is another wound I cannot stand to inflict. It's easier admitting all this to the floor than to Elsa, the floor cannot judge me.

"You don't understand what it's like to live a lie like this, Elsa. To lie to your best friend every day of your life. I don't care if you ever want to see me again." _I'm getting used to final goodbyes._ "I just need to tell you how I feel."

_My theatrics are over now. I am exhausted._ "I love you Elsa."

I look up, humiliated, literally bleeding, broken. Elsa is searching herself for a logical response. There isn't one. She's crying harder than I am. I close my eyes.

I open them when I feel her hands on my own. She is looking down at me. Our eyes are interconnected. Two beams of light focused from miles away.

She lifts me up. Drags me to the bathroom. She is taking care of my bleeding knees. They're fine, actually, but Elsa is always over-protective of me. My dress is ripped, dripping in my blood. I looked like Carrie after prom. A complete mess.

Elsa is lifting my dress over my head. _She's stripping me._ I'm too defeated to fight back.

I'm in my underwear. My fancy party underwear. Still crying. Humiliated. Through the seemingly never-ending tirade of tears, I manage to see Elsa, smiling back at me. For the first time in forever I see Elsa as the motherly figure she truly is. She protects me from everything, most importantly myself. Here I was thinking that I was _her_ protector. _Her_ shield.

I can't imagine what I would do without my Elsa.

I am half-naked. I would try to cover myself up, but what's the purpose, when I have already spilled everything to this beautiful woman that I have to offer.

She cups my chin with her two hands, bringing my face upwards to face her own. She is actually smiling for once. _Smiling at me._ She has never looked more radiant in her entire life. She collides her lips with my own. She's kissing me.

Before I can even figure out what is happening, I realize we are making out. She's quite good at it, for a virgin. I can't fathom how she has practiced this. Her hands brush against my naked legs. I cringe a bit. She's avoiding the bandaged portions of my legs, but I am still almost completely naked, and Elsa's cold hands are exploring a sensitive part of my body.

Sustaining any form of humility is futile. Elsa can have whatever she wants. I'm already undressed, a present already unwrapped. Her hands are exploring me. Probing my flesh. Her fingers are dancing on my waist, her thumbs teasing the straps of my thong. My essence is dripping. My soul is blooming.

_This is the greatest feeling in the world._

I had once doubted if Elsa was actually human. _What an absurd thought._ No one on this planet is more human and graceful than Elsa. She is making love to me, for the first time. She is good at it. Awkward, but concise. She's wanted this for a long time, too.

_It happens._

Months and months of sexual tension, that had boiled to an unbearable point, is now loose. This is two planets colliding, two cataclysms happening at the same time. It is everything I have wanted for months. The feeling of letting it all go is too intense to describe with words.

_This is it._

We wrestle each other to the bedroom. I am now exploring her body too. My hands are sliding down her hips, inspecting her curves. The black lace fabric of her shirt is being caressed by my fingers, which are doing ballet against her ribs. _She's moaning._ Her poker face is bad. I have experienced this before - although obviously not as intensely - and therefore I am better at hiding it. She is a virgin. _I am here to introduce her to all of this. _

We're both moaning. My red hair is spilling over myself now, falling down around my shoulders. Elsa's braid has been ripped out too. We're humping against her desk, me against the wall. I am the submissive one here, though we're both predators. Her skirt is hiked up in a mess of fabric. _Holy shit is her skin pale._ It looks like paper. _It's cold, too. Like making love to a vampire. Undead, cold flesh. But moving._

Her back is arching against the air. My hands are groping her ass now. She is making love to me in a graceful, elegant way. It's reminiscent to everything else Elsa does. I am shamelessly, desperately grabbing at her, in a broken, drunk manner befitting a street urchin. We're making out and I can feel her tongue sliding its way into my own mouth. _She is so sexy._

Her hands are invading, as well. _Now my crotch. Oh my god Elsa please be careful._ I don't want to cum now, I want to do it with you. I want this to have some kind of meaning. She pets my crotch, and the sensation sends shock waves through my entire body, I am melting like a snowman left out to the sun. _I can feel her inside of me._ I pull her skirt down her legs. She is now naked from the waist down with the exception of her lace thong. Her shirt is too delicate and complicated to remove; she can keep it on for as much as I care.

_"Anna... take my shirt off..."_

It is hard to talk with her tongue down my throat. "It isn't coming off."

_"Rip it."_

_Done. _I shred it off of her, clutching the weak spots of the fabric. Forcibly tugging it off of her, revealing her naked torso to me. _She is amazing. _

I feel my power returning to me. I push her from me, and onto the bed. I pile drive her. We're now making out on the bed, with me on top now. _Elsa will have none of this._ She throws me down beside her, topping me. It's now a contest, _a feat of strength._ We are actively wrestling each other, fighting each other for the top position. _She's on top._ Then I am. Then her. Then me. We are rolling down the length of the bed and not after long, we tumble onto the floor. The intensity, the passion, the anger, it doesn't stop even slightly.

We're still rolling, interlocking positions. Neither of us will allow the other to be on top. We're both too wild, too horny. Eventually we roll right into the dresser. We must have been absolutely furious, because when we struck the dresser, we hit it with such momentum that it fell over, on top of us. It would have buried and potentially injured us both gravely, but the dresser is caught by a chair that was positioned beneath it. The chair stops the entire dresser from falling onto us, but the top drawer slowly slides out.

It smashes on the ground, spilling its contents all over the room. It was Elsa's underwear drawer, obviously. We're making out, kissing, humping, two cats mauling each other, and now Elsa's lingerie is all over the place. One of her pairs of underwear is gagging me partially. _It's everywhere._

We smarten up. Neither of us is ever going to cum unless we collaborate. Our humping and fingering is now more melodic, more precise. The table light is flickering now, producing a strobe light in the room. Did we smash that too when we were rolling? _The window is screeching._ The wind is howling so loudly outside it sounds like it's about to break through the window and engulf the entire room.

It's now paranormally cold in the room again. It's freezing. I could swear I could see snow falling from the ceiling but perhaps it's just her cum, I'm not certain what is real in this moment.

The explosion of passion from two seemingly mundane people was beyond any sort of description. _It just was._

We're fucking each other together now. As a team. Sliding our bodies against each other. I can feel that orgasmic rush of power flow itself through me again. There is nothing I can do to prevent the inevitability of what is about to happen. _I am going to cum._ I verbalize this to Elsa. She seems ready, too. We both deserve release.

Timed perfectly like a New Years Eve countdown, we both finish at the same time. Elsa is choking me. Forcing my face down into the pile of her lingerie. She is making me face her unmentionables, degrading me in this moment in an unexpected way. There was no love in her methods, only lust. _This was a hate fuck._ After what I put her through this evening, it was her way of returning my neglect.

_I didn't care as long as it helped her cum._

_I felt it._ So did she. It was unmistakable. The planets are finally colliding. We both had our orgasms simultaneously. It was the greatest feeling of my entire life.

We were both panting now like marathon runners. She rolled herself off of me. She was panting louder than I was. It was obvious that I was in much better health than Elsa. I was an athletic person. Elsa sat inside all day. She was thin because she ate like a rabbit, but not somebody who was used to strenuous physical activity. _I had to change that._

We were both sweating profusely. The place was beyond a mess. My bandages had come undone partially. Blood was all over the carpet and the bed sheets. I had slathered and perspired horribly. My saliva was all over the mess of underwear beneath me. I was now panting, sweating into them even more. Every pair was filthy. Most filthy were the two pairs of underwear we were wearing. Among all the chaos neither of us had the time to undress completely. My cum was dripping down my leg and onto the carpet. Elsa's had dripped onto me when she was still above me.

_Blood, spit, cum, sweat, tears._ Our fluids stained the place, covering every inch of what we had touched.

Still panting, Elsa faced me. She broke the silence. "That was the greatest thing, like, _ever._"

_"I know."_

"I love you, Anna. Sorry for getting rough with you. _Heat of the moment_ and all that."

"I love you too, Elsa." My panting slowed. I began to catch my breath. _"I like it rough."_


	10. The calm before the storm

It had been a week since _that_ night. You know the one. The one with the sweaty, passionate sex. The night where months of sexual frustration exploded with all the lust two young women could muster. We spent hours cleaning the blood off the carpet. It was a real horror show.

Me and Elsa had a conversation that night. We rested in bed together, exhausted. _Silence._ Elsa rebelled against that silence.

"You said you were _in love_ with me."

"Yes." _Please just go to sleep Elsa, we can deal with this tomorrow. My neck is sore._

"I was thinking about that statement."

"You were?"

"Yes, I was. I don't think I can return those feelings quite yet."

I shifted in my sleep, turning my body upright. I maneuvered so I was facing towards Elsa despite the fact I couldn't see her anyway. It was pitch black. "I... understand."

I can hear Elsa giggling. "_I'm just fucking with you Anna._ Of course I love you back."

_You bitch._

_I love you so much._

And just like that, we were a couple. Doing, you know, couple things. Lesbian couple things, but hey, we were lesbians.

At least I thought I was a lesbian... or bisexual. Or whatever. Why do we feel the need to label love? All labels do is say what is and what is not allowed. You can only love _this_, you can only love _that_. Only when you disregard all labels can you ever truly be free to be yourself.

I loved Elsa because I loved Elsa. I didn't care what that made me, what it meant, what label it meant I was now apart of. I would have loved Elsa if she was male. It wasn't her body that I loved, though without a doubt it was amazing. _It was her soul._ What she was.

People spend their entire lives afraid of being who they really are. I didn't care what anyone else said about me or her, because the love I felt for Elsa was worth anything. Any awkward encounter, any threat, any comment. Nothing could ever rip Elsa away from me, she was my everything, she was an extension of myself.

What kind of world do we live in where people are afraid of _love?_ Elsa is asleep. I'm staring at her. Absorbing a fragment of her beauty. I'm looking at her and it hurts so much thinking about her. This is _love._ I can't imagine a version of reality where she doesn't coexist alongside me. There isn't one anymore.

Elsa woke up. Maybe all my inner-monologues disturbed her. Even before we became an official couple, she would always check on me the instant she woke up. Maybe she was so used to people leaving her it was a habit.

"What's wrong, Anna?" she whispers half-asleep.

"Nothing Elsa. I was just thinking about how amazing you are." Her face is buried in her pillow. Elsa hated being woken up for any reason. "Elsa... you know, the sky's awake, and I'm-"

_"Shut the fuck up Anna and go to bed." _She's now asleep.

This is what love is. Bickering in the middle of the night about stupid shit. Swearing at each other when the other person is being ridiculous. Eating into the other person's sleep patterns.

Love is insanity. Only the insane can ever truly be loved. It's an inherently insane thing.

_I am insane._

* * *

Couple stuff is a little bit difficult at first. Being naked in front of the other person is kinda awesome, but there are certain times when I'm not in the mood to be gawked at. After dinner, when I've just eaten way too much food and my stomach is bloated. I don't like Elsa seeing me naked then.

Another example is first thing in the morning when my face is stained with sweat, my hair is a mess, and my skin looks ghastly. I'd rather not be seen like that, but a relationship is all about watching your lover slowly disintegrate in front of you.

Watching movies all day was acceptable when we were friends, but now that we're a couple, I wasn't going to let Elsa sit inside all day. It was summer.

I had an idea. _Let's go running._

She fought me every step up the way there. I had to physically strip her, to make her wear the proper work-out clothing. She didn't have any. She was wearing _my_ clothing.

That's right. _My_ clothing.

"I feel absolutely fucking ridiculous dressed like this."

"Elsa you're perfectly open to wear your own work-out clothing. If you like, had any. So until then, you'll have to wear mine."

Wearing all black was fine when we were friends. But now that we were a couple, and that we were socially going to be judged and seen together, I needed to make sure Elsa made a perfect impression to the rest of the world. This meant actually wearing regular clothing from time to time.

"These shorts are too tight."

"They're supposed to be tight."

"Not _this_ tight."

"Your butt is bigger than mine."

"Anna are you calling _me_ fat?"

"Your butt, yes. Your butt is amazing. You should be happy you don't have a flat ass like me."

Elsa rolled her eyes. "I don't want people seeing me in these tight little shorts."

"You're working out Elsa. Outside. Who gives a shit?"

"I don't know about all of this Anna... isn't running going to get tiring?"

_Oh my god,_ it was like trying to explain algebra to a three-year-old. "It's _supposed_ to be tiring. It's called _exercise_. The entire point of it is to be difficult. If it was easy, everybody would do it." My patience was starting to wear thin explaining every little thing to her. I just wanted to treat her like a dog going to the vet and tell her we were going to get ice cream.

Elsa cocked her head at me, and in her most defiant way, commented, "then why do people do it?"

_We're going for a jog, Elsa. Don't make me wax on about existentialism in the middle of a jog, it's already exhausting as it is._

I literally had to drag her outside, but we were doing it.

As we were walking to the path, I couldn't help but take a small moment and admire Elsa. There's this weird feeling when someone you love is wearing your clothing. It's an even weirder feeling when that person looks _fabulous_ in your clothing, even better than you do. Elsa was self-conscious about her body, and admittedly, every girl is, but she had absolutely no reason to be. _She was amazing._ My clothing hugged her curves so magnificently that I just wanted to tear them off her, but that was something for later. _It's jogging time. _

The first half of the first kilometer was fine. We both jogged together, maintaining the same pace. We were both listening to music but we appreciated the other's company. I always thought people who went jogging with someone else were just doing it because they were afraid of being seen in public on their own, but honestly, that extra presence is inviting in a weird way.

I wanted us both to live forever together. Every jog together assured us more time together. The healthier we got, the more time it meant I could have with my Elsa. Simple as that.

The second half of the first kilometer didn't go as smoothly. Elsa lost ground very quickly. I slowed my pace and she still couldn't keep up with me.

"Do we need to take a break?"

"Take a _break_? You mean we aren't done?"

"Done? This is just the warm-up. The path is nearly eight kilometers long."

Elsa looked at me like I just told her I wanted to show her a dead body. Panting, frantically, she managed to get out a simple _"I'm tired."_

We walked an entire kilometer, allowing Elsa to catch up with her breath. I asked her if she was ready to jog again. She said "soonish."

After another kilometer she started complaining about having a wedgie. _This is not going well._ I was about to scold her for being so abrasive about the whole thing when she launched into an oral assault.

_She's kissing me. In public._

"Please, Elsa, don't... _I'm in shorts." _I could feel her soft lips dance with my own. Her cold breath sent a shiver down my spine. She was oozing with sex appeal, but I had to resist her at all costs.

_It's too late._ We're making out in public, along the middle of the path like two complete buffoons. Just as soon as I started getting into it I heard foot prints coming from behind us. Another runner.

I pulled Elsa away from me, tossing her away like used trash. She looked hurt, justifiably so. The foot prints grew closer. Suddenly a voice came down the pathway towards us.

"Holy shit I can't believe it's you two."

It's Kristoff. He was an athletic guy. It made sense for him to be here.

"I haven't seen you... since that party... where you got too drunk, Anna." He's panting violently. "I... you never returned any of my texts or calls."

Elsa looked at me. She's the second fiddle here. "Yeah, sorry about that. Life got in the way and all that." _I'm a terrible liar._

"I heard some pretty crazy rumors. By the way, _hey Elsa._"

Elsa faked her best smile. She wasn't a people person. People were her Kryptonite. She had a hard time functioning in society as it was. Whenever the two of us were out together in public, it was I who did the socializing.

Kristoff continued, now no longer panting. "So, Elsa is your..."

_"Best friend,"_ I interrupted. _Oh god what have I done._

Kristoff nodded his head. "Huh. Well, nice seeing you two." He ran off, finishing his work-out. I must say Kristoff was a pretty fast runner. You don't always see such large men light on their feet, but Kristoff was agile.

Elsa looked down at the ground. _I am a fucking idiot._ How could I be ashamed of the most proud achievement in the history of my life? What is wrong with me. I just threw Elsa under the bus without a second thought.

It was our cue to walk back home. I looked away from her as we walked; looking at Elsa hurt too much. I was humiliated for myself. Where was a noose when you needed one?

Along the way the only thing that cut the awkward silence was the sound of our own feet shuffling. When we returned home, I was the first to use the shower. I peeled my sweat-drenched clothing off of me, still buzzing internally about what I had done. I stared into the shower head, feeling the water drain itself over my sore body. I'm still incapable of believing what I had said. I am fucking brain-dead. I am useless. I am...

A knock on the glass of the shower door. _It was Elsa._

She climbs into the shower with me. One look at her face and I knew that she had forgiven me. Why, I can't imagine.

"I'm sorry, Elsa..."

"I know."

"I just... wasn't ready yet..."

"For once, Anna, please, _can you just stop talking and kiss me?"_

When she placed her hands on me I could feel the hairs on my neck stand up. Even in the warm shower Elsa's hands were cold. Everywhere she would go, she would bring that icy feeling with her. With her here with me, it was like the water was from a tundra. She groped me with her freezing cold hands, and I loved every minute of it.

We were getting increasingly good at cumming together, which is a surprisingly difficult thing for some couples to master. I don't know what made me pant more, the _jogging,_ or the _shower._

We prepared together. We changed together. We ran together. We even showered together. Now, we're changing together again. Every choice of my day was starting to be made by Elsa. I was making decisions for us both, now.

Elsa never stayed angry at me for long. She understood that this was an awkward adventure for us both. If we turned on each other, then it was never going to work. We needed to collaborate on this. Neither of us knew what we were doing. Every day was a discovery, an experiment, and a failure. Only occasionally would we have any achievements. Though rare, they were infinitely rewarding. Elsa understood me. She understood that I was an idiot and that I could not be held responsible for the recklessness of my actions.

We're both exhausted now. We planted ourselves on the couch. It was now time for horror movies, I presumed.

"Pick something for us to watch, Anna."

I couldn't believe the words that came out of Elsa's mouth! She was letting _me_ pick what we were going to watch? She was _rewarding_ my prior rudeness?

I put on a comedy series. We sat there together.

We _laughed._ Honestly, _laughed._ What a surreal day.

What an amazing day.

And no, I didn't get away with my rudeness. That night Elsa made sure of it. I still remember being sore from it all.

Life couldn't be better. Looking back, these were the happiest days of my entire life. It never got more fulfilling than these random days with Elsa. They didn't last long.


	11. The storm

Somehow during the next few months me and Elsa managed to grow even more absurdly close together than before.

I didn't think it was possible, but we managed to pretty much spend every second of every day cradled together like two lovers on a sinking ship. It would have been romantic if it wasn't so insane.

My social life suffered very severely. _What social life? _Elsa was my social life. _She was my life. _Running away in the middle of the biggest party of the year, screaming incoherently, apparently makes you something of a weirdo. _Apparently_, people do not like weirdos. I became just as much of an outcast as Elsa was.

I didn't care though. Elsa was all I needed to be happy. All I needed to prosper in life. Every waking moment was dedicated to our relationship. It was an unhealthy obsession, and eventually, it was going to become too much for me to handle, but for the time being it was the definition of bliss. _Elsa is my bliss. _

It was now winter again. Or at least it was time to prepare for winter. It wasn't snowing or anything yet but it was damn cold. We needed to get some winter stuff. Er, at least _I_ needed to get some winter stuff. Elsa had the same thin jacket that she wore last year.

"Isn't it cold in that thing?"

"Not really, no."

_The cold never bothered this nut, anyway._ Elsa must be crazier than me. She was wearing late spring apparel in November. She looked absolutely fabulous, and it was incredible how she managed to look consistently so stylish in all black. But there was no way she could have been warm in that thing.

_Unless..._

"Are we ready to go Anna?"

"Of course, yeah. Where are we shopping?"

"You know, like, the mall."

"Yeah but like, which mall?"

"The one that is closest." _Thank god, I'm freezing already and we haven't even left the house._

It was a brisk walk. The air was cold. So cold it was difficult to draw breathes without your lungs rejecting it. It was the kind of bitter, harmful cold that made you want to go home and bury yourself in a fort of blankets.

Fuck a new jacket, I just wanted to cuddle with Elsa at home. I mean, that was cold too, but at this point I was starting to get used to Elsa's eternal cold. It was like making love to an ice cube tray, but at least it was an ice cube tray that knew how to make me... _well you know._

"Can we stop for some hot chocolate?"

"Is this one of those things where something as simple as going to the mall becomes a project?"

"Please Elsa, I need chocolate."

_I won._ We were getting it. Elsa was a sore loser though. "You know all that chocolate isn't good for your complexion, you're going to break out in pimples if you keep this up..."

"That's what concealer is for." I opened the door to the café to let Elsa in. _The warmth, my old friend. I don't get to see you very often, but when I do, it's the greatest thing ever._

We took a seat together near the window. It was a lovely little place and the two of us would get drinks there often. Bundled up in my thick winter clothing, nestled next to Elsa who was sitting beside me. _Life doesn't get comfier than this._ It just doesn't. When the waitress asked us what we wanted, I ordered a hot chocolate. Elsa just wanted some coffee. For someone criticizing my complexion, she sure does drink a lot of coffee.

We were in the middle of a lovely conversation when the barista returned with our order.

"Anna surely you must be familiar with Alan Turing."

"Yeah, I'm his _biggest_ fan. Just for the sake of it, how about you tell me all about him."

Elsa rolled her eyes. If I had a dollar for every time Elsa rolled her eyes at my obliviousness, I'd likely be richer than her. "He was a code breaker from World War II."

"Oh yeah, that guy. He was awesome."

"No really, Anna, he was one of the most influential figures of that war. Codes that he and his associates cracked were one of the key factors in ending the war."

"Okay. So he helped end World War II. That was great of him. What does he have to do with us?"

"Well after he helped save the lives of thousands of people, hell, probably millions, he came out as gay."

"He was gay?"

"Yes."

"The guy who ended World War II was gay?"

"Yes. And you know what they did to him?"

I wasn't as much of a history expert as Elsa was clearly, but at this point I was actually quite engaged in what she was saying. "No. What?"

"Being openly gay was illegal in the UK in the 1950's. He was prosecuted by his government. He killed himself a few years later."

"The guy, who helped end a fucking war, was then declared a criminal?"

Elsa nodded. _Well, fuck._ Her point, I take it, was that sometimes being yourself was hard. When I accepted the job of being Elsa's lover, I didn't really think about the logistics of it all. Being gay was like, kind of a big deal to a lot of people still.

_People are the worst._

I was looking out the window when I saw _them._ Belle and Ariel. From class. The book-worm and the swim team champ. I can't fathom why those two of all people were friends, but then again, opposites attract.

_They were coming in._

_"Anna!" _cried Ariel.

_"Annnnnaaa!" _Belle purred.

"Hey!" _You know, I'm kinda here with someone. You can acknowledge her existence too._

They launched into some long tirade of a story I was too tired to pretend I cared about.

"Ok, so like, you'll never guess what happened after you left that party. By the way why didn't you answer any of my texts? Me and Belle were worried about you! Anyway, so after you left, Hans got into this big fight with the DJ, he beat the shit out of Hans."

"Oh." _Belle had spotted Elsa. _"Hey there... ?"

"_She's_ _Elsa," _I reminded.

"Oh yeah, Elsa. From English... ? Anna, she's your... ?"

Elsa winced at the question. She stared away, blushing. She gave me the go-ahead. _Go ahead, Anna, lie, whatever you have to do to save yourself. Just leave me out of this._

"Elsa is my girlfriend."

Silence over came all four of us. Ariel was the first to regain her composure and continue.

"You mean like _a_ girlfriend?"

"No, I mean, _like_ she's _my_ girlfriend. My _lover._"

Belle took this much easier than Ariel. In fact, Belle was smiling at this, like she saw it coming a mile away. Ariel, the most talkative ginger in the world, next to me, was for once silent and awkward. "Oh." A long pause separated her two comments. "Well, um, we're gonna order now..."

Belle was the only one who waved goodbye. It was an unbearably tense moment. I think having your parents walk in on you during an orgy would be slightly less awkward. But I think I did the best I could do with diffusing this bomb before it went off.

I turned to Elsa. _I'm sorry for being such an idiot._

Shockingly, she was not upset. She was smiling. Brimming with more happiness than I have ever seen her share.

_Oh my god._

_I stood up for Elsa._

_I stood up against my friends._

I stood up for _us._

I mean I didn't shout to the entire world that I was the queen of the lesbians, but it was a start. I didn't hide anything. I was open.

I was... out of the closet?

Elsa smiled at me like I had just proposed to her. She hid her smile behind her cup, sipping from it. "Thank you Anna."

We didn't have to say very much. At this point we had established a telepathic link. We could communicate through small subtle cues. We were like worker ants. People who didn't know us thought we were complete dorks.

Elsa didn't have to articulate how she felt with mere words. The look she gave me explained a million times that she was proud of me. I had made a huge, ridiculous step, and she knew it was a leap for someone like me.

We were a couple. Lovers. Nothing was going to mask that anymore. With renewed energy, we left to continue our trip to the mall. Elsa had a skip in her step, like she was lighter than before. Happiness will do that to you. I looked back at the table Ariel and Belle were sitting at. Ariel ignored our existence, texting furiously. Belle waved at us again.

_I always liked that brunette._

* * *

We were dancing in the streets now. Two open lovers, no longer afraid of displaying our affection openly. We were like any two people walking down the street now. No longer did we have to hide anything like what we shared wasn't the most beautiful thing in the world.

Isn't it amazing how a walk to the mall can change a person's life? _If only I knew..._

I was crossing the road when everything changed. I wasn't looking where I was going, obviously. I mean I never looked where I was going, but sometimes that can have dangerous results.

A car sped up unexpectedly and before I knew what was happening, it was inches away from hitting me at maximum speed. I jerked my head into its direction just a moment too late to realize what was happening. It was going to hit me and there was nothing I could do to prevent it.

What a sad irony dying is. You have enough time to realize you're about to die, but not long enough to prevent it. She permeated my final thought.

_Elsa._

I closed my eyes and thought of her. My perfect lover. The person who has occupied every waking moment of my life for the past few months. The person who meant more to me than the blood flowing through my own body. The person who I had just likely sacrificed complete social dogma for. _At least at this point, my funeral will be peaceful._

I opened my eyes. Why wasn't I dead? When I opened my eyes, I came back to Earth and I noticed the sound of clinging metal.

A shield of ice had formed from the ground, smashing into the car. A miracle had prevented that car from hitting me. The driver had fled the scene, running into the empty streets, screaming in fear.

I looked behind me. It was Elsa. The strongest panic I have ever seen a person have, was raging inside of Elsa's eyes. _She was horrified. Scared beyond words._ In the hundreds of horror movies we had watched together, not once did I ever see a person embody such terror.

_"I... "_ No words could describe the sentiment I was trying to express. No words could ever be invented to explain what I was feeling.

She looked at me. Made sure I was fine. Made sure that I was in no danger. When she was contempt with what she saw, she too made a mad dash away from me. She sprinted faster then I thought was possible for her. For a girl so against cardio, she sure could run.

I fell to my knees. The block of ice that had magically formed from the ground was now evaporated, no longer there. Other drivers were now forming around the wreck, asking for an explanation. There was none. Suddenly everything made sense. Every question that had been built up in the last year, every last nagging concern I have ever had with Elsa... was now answered in an instant. And yet, I had never been filled with more questions in my entire life.

"Miss, holy fuck. Are you _alright_?"

"_No._" I don't think I'm ever going be _alright_ again.


	12. Ain't no sunshine when she's gone

One of the drivers from the crash site drove me to the hospital. At that point I was too frazzled to resist his offer.

_I guess we aren't shopping today. Or any day in the foreseeable future, for that matter._

I wanted to explain to the gentleman that I was completely fine. I mean, I was a little scraped up from falling to the ground so over-dramatically, but beyond that it wasn't like the car actually hit me or anything. I was fine, physically, anyway. Mentally, I was a wreck and I think I was genuinely losing my mind. But hey, what else is new.

But how was I going to explain that? _Oh no thank you sir, I don't need to go to the hospital, a magical lesbian created a block of ice out of thin air that saved my life. I'm perfectly fine._

Besides, maybe seeing a doctor was a _good idea_, actually.

I... needed some time to analyze what I saw. Or what I thought I saw. Or... I don't even know this time. _I give up._ I truly do. Maybe if I was lucky the doctor would tell me I had schizophrenia and that Elsa was all a figment of my imagination. You know, if I was _lucky._

That man was kind enough to offer me a ride to the hospital but apparently his kindness only went so far. After he made sure I wasn't going to drop dead or anything, he took off, leaving me alone in the waiting room.

I was afraid to be alone with my own thoughts. They were dangerous.

I wanted to be anywhere else in the world. Obviously I wanted to find where Elsa ran off to but I don't think I was yet ready to face that hurdle.

_Elsa._

Where do I even begin? What is she?

My mind refused to believe what I saw. I made any number of excuses to deny what happened. Maybe the waiter at the coffee shop spiked my drink with LSD or something? Maybe Elsa was a secret practicing magician and conjured up an optical illusion. Or perhaps, however unlikely, I imagined the entire thing.

Maybe the car did hit me. Everything that happened afterwards is the afterlife. I am dead now. Dead and in hell, forced to live forever without Elsa. That's the only version of hell I could think of.

I thought up many different explanations for what I had seen and not one of them made any kind of real sense.

But, what was the alternative? _That Elsa is an otherworldly being?_ How could I even entertain such a notion; I really must be out of my mind.

Elsa _was_ otherworldly though. Everything about her was a step above the rest. Not in all my life had I met such an amazing, perfect, flawless, inspirational human being. Elsa was the star and the center of my solar system. If there is some kind of conspiracy or practical joke going on here, then it was too cruel beyond words.

Something about her seemed... _off._ It was always hard to pinpoint exactly. Hard to describe. No one was truly that beautiful. No one was truly that perfect. There was always this one, indescribable thing about her that I could never explain.

_The cold._ Why is Elsa always so cold? Is she cold-blooded? From another world where the inhabitants are cold-blooded? What else could be the explanation for such a bizarre thing. Every person was uniquely different in their own way, but that particular part of Elsa went beyond the realm of reason, into the world of the paranormal. No one was that cold. It was impossible for a person to literally be freezing.

_What is she?_ Some elemental conjurer? With the power over cold and ice? _The weather._ Could Elsa be the explanation for all this weird weather? For years Arendelle had only mild weather. Suddenly, Elsa rejoins the human population and the weather escalates. For no other reason we get record-breaking snow storms.

Elsa's life is in danger and a gust of wind saves us both. The next few days snow fell in an infinite abundance. It all must be connected some way.

My train of thought is interrupted. "Hello. Is there an Anna here?"

I nod.

I'm directed out of the waiting room and brought into the doctor's office. He'll see me a in a few minutes. _More waiting._ More time to be drowned by my own thoughts.

_It can't be connected._ Assuming, and this is absolutely _im-fucking-possible_, all the nonsense I'm thinking is actually true, then that means that Elsa can't control her powers very well. I mean, the only other explanation is that she let the snow fall for all those days and _willingly_ let those people die.

My Elsa. My perfect Elsa. A willing murderer. Not to mention all the other accidents and disasters that took place during the storm. She could have killed Hans that way.

My eyes are brimming with tears now. _This can't be._ There has to be a logical explanation to all of this.

This is just me being my usual ridiculous self. Jumping to conclusions for no reason. Believing in wild, stupid theories when there was a logical explanation just a step forward.

But if this is all ridiculous... _then why is it making so much sense?_

I couldn't believe this. This meant the world really was in danger. I wasn't over exaggerating. The apocalypse really was just a moment away that day. If Elsa's mood had not improved, then we really could have been buried in a mountain of snow. Elsa controlled the entire balance of the world. With just a turn of her wrist, she could block out the sun for eternity with a new ice age.

I'm not sure what Elsa was. I don't think she knew what she was, either. All I knew was that she was _mine._ Knowing Elsa made me who I was. I was lost, bored, and indifferent to the world before I met Elsa. Elsa brought the sun back to me. Elsa made every waking moment worth living just because she was right next to me. I was a better person for having known Elsa.

Elsa's love made me who I was. Without her I was nothing. A shell of a person. A broken, smashed-up shell ready for the dump. What ever the fuck was going on here I had to figure it all out immediately, because no matter what was going to happen I knew I needed Elsa by my side or I wasn't going to survive.

The doctor enters the room now. Apologizing for his tardiness, he launches right into it. "What seems to be the trouble? It says here you might have been in a car accident?"

_What seems to be the trouble? My world as I know it is fucking over. That's my goddamn trouble. _I blurt out something stupid. "I have a few scrapes on my knees." He inspects them. They're fine.

"Is there anything else I can do for you young lady? Any head trauma?"

I think for a moment. _Really_ think, like my life depended on it. It did. "I've had a hard time sleeping lately." Guess what he does? Prescribes me some sleeping pills. After that I'm on my way.

I did need those sleeping pills. I was going to need them.

I have no idea where the hell I am. I've never been to this hospital before. I decide to just ride the bus back home.

_Where was Elsa?_ She must be going to the same destination I am.

_Home._

There are a multitude of places Elsa could go. The only one that made any sense was home. The place where everything began. The place where our relationship began. The place where I told her I loved her, the origin of our entire love is become of that house. I'd be dead without that house.

_I'm on my way._ Two dozen strangers packed in a small, cramp metal box, and none of them knew that out there was a young blonde girl who could usher in the apocalypse. I was now involved in a conspiracy that could affect the entire world, and none of them can ever know this. We mind our own business.

_That house._ The house her father owned and paid for. The same father I had never met. _It didn't add up._ None of it made any kind of sense. The more I thought about what was going on, the less everything added up. I was used to throwing common sense out the window in regards to Elsa, but this didn't make any sense no matter how you looked at it.

I needed explanations. I needed to talk to her. Everything would be better with Elsa. She would make all of this go away. She would offer a simple explanation that would reduce all of my concern to dust. _She had to._ I was depending on her. I needed my Elsa by my side, regardless of what she was.

I'm not afraid. _I should be but I am not._ Elsa would never hurt me. She had just saved my life.

She had saved my life four times now.

The _first_ time was with the bullies.

The _second_ time was stripping my clothing off and saving me from hypothermia.

The _third_ was sheltering me from the storm.

The _fourth_ was just an hour ago, saving me from the car.

_She had saved my life four times._ She would never hurt me. She obviously needed me just as much as I needed her. Whatever she was hiding it was worth revealing for my own sake. My life obviously meant more to her than whatever kind of secret she was hiding behind.

I'm here. At Elsa's house. _Our house._ I'm afraid. Not of Elsa but of what will happen. Anxiously I walk up the steps and on to the front porch. I find my key in my pocket and pry the door open. I'm yelling her name.

She's not there.

I waited. _For hours._ Until the sun ran out. She didn't return home that night. I waited up all night for her and she never returned. I couldn't call her. She didn't have a cell phone. I had no way of tracking her down.

She hated being outside. None of this made any sense.

The morning came. Elsa was still not home. I waited all afternoon until I fell asleep. When I awoke, Elsa was still nowhere to be seen. She had vanished into thin air.

_I was sick. Sick to my stomach._ I force-fed myself those sleeping pills just to get some rest, because I knew otherwise my body wasn't going to let me until I got psychically ill. Each time I woke up to find that Elsa was still not back, I fell into an even deeper sense of sickness. The stress was starting to have a noticeable effect on my body. I was a nervous wreck.

Four days passed. No Elsa. I stalked the front entrance awaiting her to walk in but she never did. To keep my mind occupied I watched television in the living room. Maybe if I kept up with all of our ridiculous routines Elsa would just come back like nothing ever happened. She would sit next to me and we would watch whatever terrible movie she wanted to and I'd be happier than words could describe.

_This can't be happening. _

I guarded that door with all of my might. Guarded it like I was waiting for someone to break in. Guarded it like it was the zombie apocalypse. _Like I had a loaded shot-gun._ I looked to that door like something was going to invade the house and burn it down. _I hated that door. _It was the only thing keeping my Elsa away from me, I thought.

_I hate that fucking door. I want to rip that fucking thing off of its hinges. _In my desperation I blamed that door for everything bad that had happened. Every last atrocity that was flowing through my feeble mind, everything bad that had ever happened in the history of the world was because of that door. _That door was to blame. That door is Hitler. _

_Still nothing. No signs of Elsa. _

I prayed that Elsa would come back safe. I had never prayed in my entire life. I was not a religious person. In those moments I looked to any kind of comfort I could find in the darkness. I would have found solace in any kind of force as long as it promised to make everything better again. To right this madness. It didn't seem to be working.

I was nothing without my Elsa. Loving Elsa made me a better person. Elsa was gone. _My everything was gone. __It's been a week since I last saw my Elsa. _

Elsa never returned to her house again.


	13. I have a plan, but it's not very good

I don't remember when it was when I first realized that Elsa wasn't coming back.

The exact moment escapes me. All of my abandonment issues aside, there was no good reason why Elsa wouldn't come back. This was _her_ home. All of her belongings were here. All of her clothing and her possessions were here. _I'm here._

Elsa did have her bank card with her though, that much I was certain. She would have brought it to the mall. That meant she had control of all of her finances, and that she could survive from day-to-day. She had everything she needed to fend for herself.

I was deluded. My delusion turned to confusion, and then my confusion became anger. When my anger ran out only hatred was left. I was angry at Elsa. _How could she abandon me like this._ How could she leave me without any kind of explanation? One way or another I'm obviously going to be spending the rest of my life wondering what the hell happened.

_I needed to find her._ Maybe she was hurt? Maybe she wandered off and was injured?

_Maybe she was dead._

I'd rather have Elsa be dead than accept the alternative; that she left me like this without even a goodbye. _If Elsa was dead, then my life was over either way._

I needed to find her. It was clear to see that she wasn't actually going to come back home, so it left me with only one thing to do. _Find her._

At that point I gave up waiting for her. Something was _wrong. _Something needed to be done. It was time that I took action before everything got worse. I needed to find Elsa even if it meant I was never going to come back home.

I got dressed. I never got that new winter jacket so I was cold. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered. I needed to find Elsa no matter what it cost me. I stepped outside and realized that it was snowing. _It had been snowing for a while._ In my week long wait for Elsa to come home I never actually stepped outside or bothered checking in on the real world around me. It was like it snowed seven straight days in a row.

The snow was two feet deep already. Every step I took was difficult.

It was a wonderful omen though. _It meant that Elsa was still alive._ Somewhere. If it's still snowing, then that means Elsa couldn't be dead. Not yet.

I checked our usual hang-out locations. _The mall._ I asked around if anyone had seen her. No one did. No one ever noticed Elsa even when she was with me. I checked the coffee place. Not a soul observed her since the last time we both went in there. _The school. The park._ Every last place me and Elsa had ever visited together, I searched. High and low. Even the running path. Not a single clue. Nothing.

Fuck, I was exhausted. My first attempt was a complete failure. The snow was piled so high it was like every last step was a marathon. I went back home to rest for the time being. I decided I had to formulate a plan. Anything that would bring Elsa back to me.

I was already out of ideas though. When I returned home, I had a meek feeling that Elsa might be there. Obviously she wasn't. There are no limits to human delusion. I took more sleeping pills. I needed rest. My body didn't want to, but I needed to get to sleep and build up my energy if I ever hoped to see Elsa again. I needed to expend every last ounce of my power if I wanted to have any chance of ever finding Elsa.

I fell asleep. _My dreams were of Elsa. _I was holding her, tightly in my arms, exploring her body. It was merely a dream but it was wonderful. Real life only brought heart-break. In my dreams I could be happy, with Elsa once more. My dreams were the only escape I had from the harsh reality that I was alone. I would flee into my dreams to escape the nightmare of being awake.

Eventually I awoke to the sound of somebody knocking on the door. _Elsa?_ I jumped over the coffee table and sprinted for the door, ripping it open with all of my might.

It was not Elsa.

It was Belle. _The book-worm._ The girl from the party. From class. From the coffee shop. The pretty brunette who actually seemed quite sincerely happy to meet my girlfriend Elsa.

She didn't speak right away. My eyes were bulging. My hygiene was not up to standard, I looked absolutely terrible. _Not showering for a week will do that to a person._ When I made an effort to look like a regular, not crazy fucking person, she seemed a little less surprised and launched into a friendly "hello."

"Hi."

"Um... can I come in?"

_Why the hell not?_ She came in, looking around like she was a little more concerned with my well-being than I would have liked. She silently removed her jacket and took a seat on the couch. "You haven't been to school in over a week."

"I've been busy."

"With what, Anna?" _Saving the world? Dealing with the biggest threat to my sanity that I have ever faced? Fighting back an apocalyptic force tooth and nail?_

"Um... you know... personal things..."

Belle wasn't having any of this. She was clearly worried for me. For what reason I had no idea, but nevertheless she was there and willing to ask me what was going on. After a week alone with my own self-hatred, suicidal thoughts, and unfathomable stress, it was lovely to hear another person's voice. Even if it didn't belong to Elsa.

"Well, people are concerned for you at school. Kristoff in particular."

"Kristoff?"

"Yeah. He went to your house looking for you. Your mother said you moved out. He couldn't find you."

"So... how did you find me?" _You barely know me._

"I volunteered to bring Elsa her work for the week. I figured that you would be with her, or that she would know. She's been missing too, you know." _Yes, I know._

"So..."

"So I just wanted to make sure you were alright." _Girl, every other word in the dictionary applies to me more than "alright" does right now. I am fucking anything but alright._

"Well, I'm alive, aren't I?"

"I suppose. What about Elsa?"

_I give up._ Why does she even care? Defeated, I tell her. "I don't know where Elsa is."

"Oh."

"Yeah." She left some folders on the table, likely filled with our school work that wasn't going to get done. There were bigger things going on here. You know, like, the end of the world. She was leaving already. I understood why, because it wasn't like I was behaving very cordial towards her.

"Um." She paused. "I'm not sure if I should tell you this, because I'm not really sure if it's trustworthy or not. But according to Hans and Kristoff, they saw Elsa at the mall on the other side of town. You know, central mall?"

"Wait... what?"

"Central mall. They saw her there. According to them. Maybe they were making up another rumor, I don't know. That's really why I came here." She looked down like she had any right to be embarrassed or shy about any of this. "I hope you find her. Before they do."

For some reason I hugged her. A little bit too tightly, perhaps, but she had delivered the best news I have ever heard in my entire life. I was floating. Singing. Screaming internally. I loved Belle with all my might in this moment. It wasn't a lot to go by, but it was a clue. A start. It made sense for Elsa to be on the farthest side of town if she wanted to be avoiding me.

I'm not sure if Belle was telling the truth or not. She seemed sincere, anyway. I'm not sure if that information was going to be of any use. But it was _hope._ It was something.

"Um..." Belle was blushing. _Oh my god, I'm still hugging her._ I dropped her like a bag of bricks, blushing now myself. She smiled though, clearly flattered by the whole situation. "Good luck, Anna."

"Thank you, Belle." _I have no idea why she's being so nice to me, but I'm too lost in despair to argue against any hope._ She's given me a fighting chance. It's not too much, but at this point, I'd take what I could get.

It was _hope._ That's all I needed to work miracles. It was a sign that Elsa was still alive, still out there somewhere. I just need to find her first before someone else does. If there's anything this week has proven to me, it's that I can't function without Elsa by my side. Not anymore.

What would I do tomorrow without Elsa?

There _is_ no tomorrow without Elsa.

I needed to make a call.

* * *

_"Hello?"_

"Anna?"

"Yup. Kristoff I need to ask you something."

"What's up?"

"According to our mutual friend Belle, you saw Elsa over at central mall, some time this week."

"Yup."

"You did?" _So she was telling the truth!_

"Yes I did."

"Kristoff I need you to drive me to that mall then. I have no idea where it is." When he didn't answer, I continued. "Hello? Kristoff?"

"Um..." There was doubt in his voice. Why was there doubt in his voice?

"Kristoff! _Please?!_"

"You should stay away from her, Anna. I'm begging you. Stay. Away."

_"Wait what?_ Kristoff what on Earth are you talking about?"

Another long, notable pause followed. "Goodbye Anna." He hung up. _He hung up on me?!_ What the fuck is going on? Why is it asking so much for just one person to act like their regular self this week. Did I cross over into an alternate dimension when that car hit me?

So for some reason Kristoff wasn't helping me. It was likely because he was still upset at me for snubbing him. Truth be told, I was giving him the cold shoulder. It was due to me hating him, but still.

Then it hit me.

"_You should stay away from her._"

"_I'm begging you. Stay. Away._"

His tone was completely off. He was _warning_ me. Forbidding me from going anywhere near Elsa. But why? What did he know that I didn't?

Something was going on here. I had to get to the middle of it before it escalated further.

_Something_ sinister was at foot. Something beyond all of us was going on here. It seemed like everybody was aware of what was going on but me. Somehow, despite Elsa being _my_ girlfriend, I was the last to be made aware of whatever was happening.

I didn't know what surreal, ominous thing was going on, but I did know this; I needed to stop it.

_Now._

The snow is now three feet deep. It hasn't stopped snowing since the last time I saw Elsa. The weather stations are practically begging people not to step foot outside. _Storm of the century_, and all that. Fuck them. I've heard that before. I survived Elsa's wrath once before, I can do it again.

I'm not sure where the mall is. I have no one else to call to give me a ride. Maybe Belle could help me? _I don't even have her number._ And she doesn't drive, anyway. I have no one else to help me. It's all on me.

I get dressed. I'm leaving now. The weather man is warning that it might be the coldest day on record. I don't care. Being around Elsa so much has prepared me to deal with extreme cold. It has no effect on me anymore. It doesn't concern me. Doesn't even register to me.

_The cold never bothered me anyway, motherfucker._

I'm outside now. The weather anchors weren't being over-dramatic. It's a flurry of white everywhere you go. Visibility is basically zero. No cars are on the road. No people. The streets are evacuated of life. For every sane person, at a time like this you stayed inside. You boarded yourself in and wished for the best. Luckily for me, I was out of my fucking mind.

The streets are empty. No life is visible. Elsa has wrapped her fingers around the neck of the city and strangled all life from it. The streets, that once danced with life, are now filled with death. The streets are a battlefield. The end of the world is coming. For real, this time.

Similar things have been reported around the world. The UK was having a freak storm, too. Ten inches of snow everywhere you went. Australia was having some record-breaking weather. Airports internationally were closed. Blizzards were reported in most of Asia and Europe. Certain places in Africa and South America were seeing snow for the first time in years, in some places the first time ever.

The weather anomaly that hit Arendelle just a few months ago was being reported all over the globe. Elsa wasn't screwing around this time. For whatever reason, she was truly trying to end the world.

I'm not a complete idiot though, I checked the news first. Malls were still open despite the storm. They may not be open tomorrow, so I had only one shot.

_There might not be a tomorrow. For anyone. Today is reckoning day. _


	14. I'll find you, even if it kills me

Every footstep was hard but I had motivation swimming in my heart.

It burned inside of me. Made my feet light like a feather, though. I _needed_ to keep going. I might be the only person in the world who could stop this. I _had_ to stop this. There was no choice.

Either I stopped it, or there wouldn't be a world left to save.

The wind was like razor blades against my flesh. It made this endless hike even more torturous. It was difficult to see where I was marching off to with the snow blinding me, but somehow I was navigating my way to the mall. It was slow as shit, but at least with every subsequent footstep, I was a few inches closer to my destination. I had to find it eventually. That, or I would _die trying._ Whichever came first.

It was hell walking to the other side of the city, especially with the weight of the world on me. But I did it. Took me hours, but eventually I arrived at central mall. I strained to open the doors of the mall, but I managed it. I weakly closed them behind me. _The warmth. The beautiful, beautiful warmth._ I was here. I survived and I was here, somehow.

The mall was essentially deserted. It was as empty as the streets. It was as if Elsa's wrath had destroyed all life on Earth, and that only I remained. I wasn't certain why she was doing this, but at least I had a small hope of finding out.

I had to investigate. I had to look around. If Elsa wasn't somehow inside here, then all of this was for nothing. This is a hunt. I need to think like Elsa to find her. Where would Elsa go? Which stores would she be shopping at?

_Coffee._

I looked at the mall directory. There was only one place to get coffee in the entire mall. That's where I went; marching through the mall like I was the only one in there. I almost was.

The mall was ominous. It was just your average mall, except there weren't any people inside of it. It was like something out of a post-apocalyptic horror movie. I expected zombies to start walking through the corridors at any point. An eerie silence fell over everything. Have you ever been alone in a place that was usually swamped with people? It was such a peculiar feeling.

I didn't have time to be thinking too much. My destination wasn't too far away from where I was. I promptly located the coffee shop and entered, searching for answers. _Answers I didn't think I wanted to hear._ But one way or another, I was going to.

I strutted up to the counter. "Hello."

"Hello miss. What can I get for you today?"

"Um, _nothing_, thank you. I needed to ask you something... er, has a blonde girl with braids been here this week?"

The clerk stared at me wide-eyed like my question was really ridiculous. It was. This young man wasn't getting payed enough to deal with nuts like me. "Um... miss you're going to have to be more specific..."

"She would have been wearing all black."

_"All black?"_

"Yes. She only wears black."

"Oh... wait... yeah. _That girl. Hard to miss. _She's been here every day this week, getting an espresso." _That's my Elsa!_

"Has she been here today?"

"Actually, yes." _My head is going to explode. This is the happiest moment of my life. _This was almost... _too easy._ Either I really knew my Elsa, or something wasn't as obvious as I was seeing.

"How long ago was she in here?"

"About an hour ago, I think."

"Where is she?" _Try to sound a little bit more desperate and creepy Anna, that might help things. _

"Um. I don't know miss. She sat around here for a moment and left the store. Like every day this week."

A pointless, anal routine? This truly was Elsa. I had her scent. I was on her. I thanked the clerk, who gave me the weirdest look I've gotten since Ariel at the last coffee shop I entered. _It was something about coffee; it brought the weird out in me._

I rushed out of the store, looking around. Where could she be? She had to be somewhere. I was not going to allow her to vanish once more, not again. I was so close. Jogging, running, and then sprinting into any direction I could, I searched for Elsa. I saw her nowhere. Still, I ran.

I bumped into something big.

_It was Kristoff. Fuck. _

"How... how the hell did you get here?" His eyes are wide open, astonished to see me here. He was cocooned in thick winter apparel, with a thick wool hat that hid his blonde hair. I on the other hand was wearing this thin little fall jacket, my red hair drenched in frozen water, with a demented expression staining my face. In retrospect, I really did look absolutely fucking insane.

"Krist... off..." _I'm panting, shocked by this turn of events._ My legs are aching. It feels like any minute they're just going to quit and walk out on me. I've abused my body so badly this week. Tortured myself in ways I didn't think I could take. I was sleep deprived, starved, and emotionally destroyed. I was starting to look like the walking corpse people accused Elsa of being.

There's only so much abuse your body can take before it betrays you. Before it says _fuck you I'm out of here._ Me and my body were beginning to develop a masochistic relationship, and I was on the verge of a breakdown. If I didn't find her soon, I was certain I wasn't going to make it much longer. "_Elsa..."_

"_Elsa?_ What about Elsa?" Kristoff inspected me like he had seen a ghost. Like he was spooked. Something I had said visibly disturbed him. The big, giant Kristoff, was afraid of something uttered by little old Anna. What a sight. Especially in my current, exhausted form.

"She's somewhere in the mall... or was... earlier today..."

"Anna... what... how did you get here?"

"I _walked_. Please, I need your help... help me find her _now_." He rested his hands on my shoulders, attempting to comfort the shambling mess of a person who stood before him.

"Anna, as soon as you called me, I drove here with Hans right away. We got here an hour ago. We haven't seen her."

_Oh no._

Anything but _that._

_Take a knife out of your jacket and stab me. Slit my throat. Rip my fucking neck out. _Do anything, but just don't make me have to talk to _Hans_ about all of this.

I was still panting lightly, so Kristoff continued. "Anna we haven't seen her. She's gone." _This cannot be. This cannot be happening. _No, I mean I cannot allow this to happen. If she gets away this time then there won't be another opportunity. It was either sink or swim. Everything depended on my mission.

"Anna, you look... you look horrible." _Understatement of the century, man._ "Please Anna. Just come with me. I'll drive you home. You shouldn't even be out here, there's a storm warning. I'll drive you home. I promise, you don't even have to talk to Hans if you don't want to."

Maybe it was due to me being completely exhausted and numb from the waist down, but Kristoff was making a lot of sense here. I looked everywhere and Elsa was nowhere to be seen. _She was gone, again._ I truly didn't think this through very well. How, in the event that I even found Elsa, was I expecting to get back home? I nearly died getting here. This was a suicide mission.

I was staring out one of the mall windows. _Holy shit, it's a monster out there._ The snow must be four feet deep now.

I don't understand why Kristoff was acting so odd, or why he and Hans were here, but at least they gave me a way to get back home. I could regroup and plan out tomorrow from home. Elsa was near here. If she had gone to the mall every day this week, then clearly she was taking shelter around here. The mall was likely going to be closed which meant I couldn't just stake out the coffee shop tomorrow, but at least I had an _'X'_ on the map to mark where the treasure was. Kinda.

"So let's find Hans. I promise you don't have to talk to him if you don't want to. As soon as you asked me to come here, I knew you would be here. We came here to protect you. I didn't want you stepping outside with the storm looming over us."

_Curse you, Kristoff. Stop making so much sense._

Kristoff continued talking, reassuring me. I couldn't hear what he was saying. I was just thinking about how close I was and that now, I was going to have to go back home. He was patting my shoulder since I was starting to cry. _What a complete failure I am._ Couldn't I do anything right? The world is resting on my shoulders and I can't even stand up to the occasion.

I had one simple job and I was too useless to even accomplish that. The next thing you know I'm resting my fragile body against Kristoff, making it so he had to support my weight. God, I have never been more worn-out in my entire life. As he was lecturing me on the recklessness of my plan, I stared out that mall window, transfixed on the endless void of snow still falling outside. I couldn't even begin to imagine how powerful Elsa must have been to be able to create all of this. She was mother nature herself, so what chance did I have in trying to outsmart her?

_Oh my god. _

_The window._

"Come on, Anna, let's go and find... what are you staring at-"

_Outside._

_It was her, outside._

_In the snow, walking._

_It was her. Elsa. _

Sirens went off in my head. My eyes were glazed in shock, fragmented by the view. Words failed my feelings. My heart was beating so hard I seriously thought I was going to have a heart attack. Kristoff saw what I was staring at. He saw her too. I wasn't out of my mind. _Elsa was alive._ She was outside, just briefly out of the mall. Mere meters away from me.

My ears drowned out everything around me, including the screams Kristoff made when I bolted to the door. You know those moments in movies where everything goes in slow motion? When time itself slows down to accommodate the action? That was happening now. _To me. _

I ran outside. Somehow I was running faster than Kristoff was because I lost him. I looked back. He didn't follow me outside into the storm. He wasn't as crazy as I was, luckily.

I saw Elsa loitering ahead of me, silhouetted by the storm.

_My Elsa. _

The storm raged. _It roared. _It screamed louder than I ever could. I didn't think snow could be so loud. It's so light, so weightless, and yet it has the potential for so much destruction and suffering. _Like Elsa. _

I screamed with all of my might. _**"Elsa!"**_

The wind was so loud, it was like thunder, masking the noises I was attempting to make. Either Elsa couldn't hear me, or she was ignoring me. Either result was a disaster for my sake. I yelled again. Somehow louder this time.

**_"Eeellllssaaaaaaaaa!"_**

The silhouette just steps beyond me turned. She heard me. It _was_ Elsa. I could see it. I could sense it. _It was my Elsa._ This was the new happiest moment in my life, despite the fact that the wind was zapping the life out of me. _I was dying. _

_Later, Anna. You've found Elsa now. This is not the time for dying. You can do that later, on your own time._

My feet are weak. The snow is go goddamn deep, it's like I'm walking on land mines. Every step needs to be taken with caution. I keep running though. Elsa is just mere steps away from me now. When I am within striking distance, I hurl my weight forward, lunging at Elsa's body. I am grabbing her, bringing her into an embrace. It isn't easy to do, mind you, but what other option did I have but to pursue her with every last ounce of energy I had? I knew it was Elsa, because her flesh was just as cold as the snow. I've missed that sensation more than I can express.

_"Anna?"_ Elsa is shocked to see me. Her face reads like she expected to never see me again. _You don't get rid of me that easily. _"You're going to die out here you fool!"

Is that the welcome I receive after everything I just did? _Fool? _My body is numb. I'll be the first to admit that this was not the best plotted plan on my part. I didn't put much thought into this whole adventure, no. _And yet I still won. _Even with everything working against me, even nature itself, I still managed to find her. As long as Elsa was still on this planet, I knew I would find her eventually.

I'm holding Elsa. She's still dressed in all black. Of course she is. Same leather jacket I saw her in last week. I'm groping at her but I can't feel her. My hands are bloody with frost-bite, broken in pieces. I cannot feel her because my hands have turned into popsicles, big mounts of broken, dead, cold flesh. Stubs where my hands used to be. The last pieces of life within my body are now leaving me.

_I... should have thought this through better. _I rest my weight on Elsa, who is now supporting me.

_"Elsa..." _I muster her name with the last breath in my body. I'm on the verge of falling unconscious. I don't think I will wake up this time. I don't even care, really. If I'm going to die it's going to be hugging Elsa with all my might.

Is this all I have accomplished? This entire adventure and I'm still going to die anyway? Die out here, in the middle of a mall parking lot during a fucking blizzard?

Still though. At least I get to die _my_ way.

I could be at home. I could be dying there alone, without Elsa by my side. At least this way my death can be meaningful. I'd rather die with Elsa than live another day on my own. This might not be the way I wanted all of this to go, but in an obscure way I'm still perfectly happy.

Oh shit, I can't feel my body anymore. No, I mean I cannot feel any portion of my body, at all. I don't know what this means for sure. I'm going to file this under _not good_.

I cannot stay awake anymore. I am now unconscious, drifting off into oblivion. I'm not entirely sure if I'm dying. If I am, dying is painless; a refreshing development from all of this coldness. Death is warm and inviting.

I can't feel her anymore physically, but I can sense her presence by my side just vaguely. _She's still holding me. Even as I am dying, I'm holding her in return. Good bye waking world._ I am now gone. I'm not certain if I'm going to be waking up this time.


	15. The truth can be a bitch

My eyes flutter open. They're heavy with sleet, but I manage to open them. When I do, light floods into my irises. _I can see._

I'm not dead._ Why am I not dead? _

I try to move. I am extremely weak so my efforts are for nothing. Beneath me, though I am numb, I can sense a bed. I'm certain that I'm resting on a mattress.

I'm now awake enough to be aware of my surroundings. I am in a room of some sort. A sterile, bland room. Dull shades of color line the walls and the bed furnishings are generic and soulless. It appears to be some kind of hotel room. I shift my head meekly, trying to find some reason in all of this. I'm not sure if there was any.

Next to me I see Elsa, staring at me, a look of concern painting her face. She is tired too, heavy with uncertainty. Like always she is dressed in all black, her clothing drenched by the snow. The lace material of her outfit was clinging sensually to her to skin.

_Not only am I not dead, but Elsa is by my side. _Even better, she's dressed in soaking wet clothing. This is heaven. Perhaps I _did_ die and this is heaven. Maybe I am now in the afterlife, resting with Elsa next to me. If I am dead, then this is perfectly fine by me. It's much more comforting than life has been recently. I think I would have welcomed that development with open arms.

I try to speak but the energy has not flooded back to my body yet. Elsa speaks for me. "I didn't think you would wake up." She has this cute little smile on her face, and she's acting shy and uncomfortable like we were strangers. _Strangers?_ _We were lovers._ Once a upon a time.

_We still are lovers._

I try to maneuver my self upwards, but my arms feel as if they are broken. I cannot move. I am a vegetable, a comatose pile of flesh bound to this bed. I can speak, although it is painful. My voice is harsh and scratchy from thirst. "Where... where am I?"

"I had to carry you back here. You fell unconscious before. We're in my hotel room." She is furrowing her brow, acting uncharacteristically awkward towards me, like she was guilty over something. _This was not my Elsa. _This entire situation was very surreal. While I was used to Elsa being socially awkward, I was normally the one person who she never felt nervous being around.

_My head was aching. _I've felt a lot of suffering in my life, a lot of which has been due to Elsa, but I wasn't aware that it was possible to feel this amount of pain. Even though I was endearing all this pain, I wanted to pounce on Elsa. Hold her again like I had begged to do for an entire week. I wanted to hold her, and have her whisper into my ear that everything was going to be fine. I was begging for this nightmare to finally end so we could move on with our lives.

Unfortunately, you don't always get what you want in life.

I was still weary. More drained of power than I have ever been in my entire life. She was speaking, but I couldn't quite hear her. Life flooded back into me though. Elsa's angelic voice had that effect on me. Just hours before, I had given up hope that I would ever hear Elsa's voice again, and now, we were together at last. We had a lot to talk about, but thankfully she wasn't dead. Just as long as she was still with me here, nothing else mattered.

I managed to talk. I asked her the question that had burned on my mind for an entire week.

"Elsa... what the _fuck_ is going on..."

She looked embarrassed. Seeing her like this had a bitter effect on me. "I guess I do owe you an explanation."

"You've been staying... at this hotel for a week?" _I was getting surprisingly good at piecing together events I had no right to understand._

Elsa nodded. "I had no where else to go. No other friends or family. So I've stayed here."

"You could have come home!" _I screamed these words. _I am no longer collapsed on the bed. Anger has risen inside of me. I am now sitting upright on the bed, opposite to Elsa who was sitting on the other bed. _Only Elsa would have gotten a deluxe room just for herself. _She had all the money in the world to spend as frivolously as she wanted, and yet the only luxury she has ever indulged in is an isolated hotel room.

"I couldn't come home." Elsa is ashamed, mortified over her actions. I can see it. She is not asking for forgiveness. She is confessing, revealing her soul to me. Whatever dark secret she possessed, she wasn't proud of it. She couldn't look at me.

"_Of course you could!_ You could have come home the first day and we could have put all of this behind us. None of this had to happen."

"No, Anna. _I couldn't._"

"Elsa!" I am now standing. _Life has gone back into my veins._ The fury has shocked me back to life; I could not just lay there and let Elsa say this heretic bullshit to me after I had just risked my life to get her back. _To get my Elsa back. _I was so sick and tired of everyone acting so cryptic and paranoid these past few days. The _X-Files_ is a great show, but I was exhausted of living it every goddamn day.

"Elsa, I don't care about your... your _powers_. I don't care about any of that. Please just come back home and we can sort all of this out. _Together. _Like before."

There is shock in her eyes because of my outburst. _Surely she must have known I would put up a fight? _"It's not that simple, Anna. You don't understand."

It's that tiresome point in the dramatic conversation when tears start forming in my eyes. I am so sick of crying. So sick and tired of being sick and tired. I've been through hell this week and I was getting exhausted of being treated like shit over everything. The stress I have endured over this week has likely shortened my life by years. Do you know what's like to have a panic attack? Can you imagine that feeling every minute of every day for an entire week? I was losing my mind because of this.

My voice is now shaking, but I manage to exclaim my thoughts while I still can. "_Then tell me Elsa._ Please just tell what's going on."

"I couldn't go home."

"Why?"

_"Because I just couldn't."_ It sounds like Elsa is on the verge of tears as well. Facing me is too much for her so she's staring at the ground while she is talking.

"_No, Elsa._ That isn't an explanation. You couldn't come home because why?"

"Because I just couldn't."

"But _why?_ Why can't you tell me?" _I am now screaming as loud as I can. _I am so livid I can't keep control of my actions. I am actively raging against Elsa, begging her to please just offer me an explanation. I'd do anything just to understand. A week of frustration is bubbling upwards, and I am now targeting my anger towards her.

"Because Hans and Kristoff said that if I came anywhere near you, they'd kill us. _Both._"

_What?_

**_What?_** A million monkeys on a million type writers, writing for a century couldn't conjure up such an absurd statement. I couldn't even begin to understand the meaning in Elsa's words. She sounded out of her mind. _Deranged. _

She continued. "They saw. The saw me saving you. They saw me save you from that car." She paused, hurt seeping through each of her words. Everything she is saying is stabbing her. _Daggers dancing on her tongue._ "They... they chased me when I ran off. Cornered me. They threatened me."

I am struggling to comprehend any of this. This is the most surreal moment of my life, and trust me, I have a weird life. "Why were Kristoff and Hans there?"

"_Ariel._ Ariel texted them at the coffee shop. Told them what you said about being my girlfriend. They came right to the coffee place." _Elsa's pausing again. Whatever she is trying to say must be too difficult for her. She's just as weak as I am at this point._ "They... followed us and saw everything."

Everything, in some obscure way, was making sense now. The pieces were fitting together and I was not liking the picture I was seeing. Elsa was the victim in all of this. She was avoiding me not because she wanted to neglect or hurt me, but because she had no choice. It didn't answer my questions about her powers, but that was an issue we were going to have to get to.

_Why would Kristoff do this?_ Threaten my Elsa like this? I can understand why a piece of shit like Hans would do something like this, but it didn't make sense how Kristoff fit into it all. Kristoff was my friend. A neglected, worn-out friend who I had screwed over quite a bit, but he was still someone who cared about me. I've treated Kristoff like shit for years and he has never gone as far as to side with Hans over anything.

_At least I thought so, anyway._

And I knew Hans was a jerk, but I didn't think he would go to this extreme just to keep me away from Elsa of all people.

"Why does Hans give a shit about whether or not I see you?"

"I don't _know_, Anna," she shrugs. "To... to protect you?" _She's starting to panic now, too. _

"So you've lived here in this hotel room for an entire week? Because Hans made you?"

Elsa nodded. "Where else was I supposed to go?"

This may not be the best time to ask this, but everything was such a hot mess I couldn't possibly see how it could make anything worse. I was throwing out every question I had collected over the past week. "Elsa..." _Doubt and unrest fills my words._ "What about your father?"

"My father is dead, Anna. He's been _dead for years._"

"You... you didn't..."

"No, Anna. Him and my mother both died when I was little. Boating accident. It had nothing to do with my... _powers."_ Elsa visibly flinched when saying that word. It caused her so much pain it was actually visible, like this curse effected her that deeply. I felt just as sick over it.

"So... I don't... I_ don't understand..._"

"My father is dead, Anna. When both of my parents passed away I inherited their entire fortune. I've paid for that home the whole time. I... only told you about my father because it was all I could think of at the time. It wasn't him who bribed the school or anything like that. It was all my doing. We've stayed at my little place this entire time."

"But... why did you lie about all of this?"

"Because I didn't think I would ever see you again, Anna, after that day when I told you. It was all I could think of at the time. How was I supposed to know we'd start going out after that day and that I would have to keep up these lies?" Her face is deep red, partly due to anger, partly due to embarrassment from all of this. She was usually so calm and stoic in everything she did. She was a mess now; I have never seen Elsa so vulnerable and afraid.

_This is the most awful day of my life._ I almost wish I had died in that storm and that Elsa hadn't found it in herself to drag me back here. I could have died oblivious, completely unaware of all these lies. This big jumble of deceit and lies that we had built our relationship on. The Elsa I knew was a lie. I wasn't sure what was real and what was a fantasy invented by her. Maybe everything was.

I wasn't sure of anything anymore. Nothing made sense. Every last thing I thought I could trust had crashed under my weight in just the last few hours. Elsa, the only person in this entire world who I loved, had betrayed me in ways that hurt more than I could bear. I didn't care why she had to do the things she did, it didn't make any of it any less painful.

But in my own pathetic, ridiculous way, _I still loved her. Of course I did. _

_How could I not. _I'll love Elsa until the day I die. Which might be soon. We still had some very important things to talk about. You know, like, the storm that was going to end all of creation.


	16. Until the bitter end

We were still in that damn hotel room. We were still arguing and yelling about what we were going to do.

I was thinking deeply about all the things Elsa told me. I was thinking about the things Elsa revealed to me, about her past. This time she was telling me the truth. _The haunting, life-changing truth._ And you know, when I actually thought about it, Elsa hadn't actually done anything sadistic towards me, or anyone else for that matter. She seemed like the biggest casualty in all of this. While she had broken my heart into a million shards, none of it was intentional. We were victims to circumstances.

_I'm panicking. We both are._ Forget the end of the world. The world can wait for now. We needed to get out of there. Before Hans and Kristoff figured out what happened. I needed to take Elsa with me and get the hell out of Arendelle. Away from all of this insanity. We could sort out everything else afterwards.

_Time was of the essence._ Every second mattered. Every moment brought us one step further to more death. The shit was hitting the fan and we were near the splatter zone.

"I..." _My mind is racing._ A trillion thoughts are circling around. _I can't think._ I need silence. I am scaring Elsa. I'm scared too. "But Elsa! What about the storm..."

"Wait... what?"

"You haven't checked the news? Or looked outside? You haven't heard about the storm?!"

"I... no..."

"The storm. The storm! _The storm_, Elsa, the storm! The one on the news! Storm of the goddamn century! Half of the world is covered in snow."

Elsa's eyes were glazed in absolute horror. She was screaming internally now, I could see it. She was obviously not aware of what was going on. Admittedly, I didn't break it all that gently to her. I didn't have time to sweeten the blow. She wrapped her arms around her ears, falling to the ground, cradling herself in fear. She is now crying, even more heavily than I was.

It was a blood-curdling sight to see my Elsa so defeated, so scared, so _alone. _I was used to seeing Elsa alone, but not like this. Not trembling on the ground like an infant. Even when Hans had tyrannized her she didn't just _give up_ like this. _This was impossible for me to look at. _I have seen many scary things in my life._ This took the cake. _

We were both absolute wrecks. Completely destroyed. You've never seen two more fucked up people than us. We looked like two escaped inmates from a mental asylum.

I am staring at Elsa, who is writhing on the floor. I'm trying to sound comforting but the fright in my voice is too apparent. "You... you can stop this Elsa, before anyone else gets hurt."

"Don't you see, Anna. **_Don't you see?_**" She is on the edge of a nervous breakdown, shaking violently from her own anxiety. A million years of anticipation passed and she finally finished her statement. "I don't know _how_. How to stop the storm. _I can't control it._"

"Of course you can! You have to!"

"No, Anna. I can't. What power do you have to prevent this? T_o stop me?_ I can't even stop this." She is holding her hands over her ears, trying to escape from what I was saying.

I raise my voice in an attempt to stress the importance of the situation. "I'm here now, Elsa. With you. If we just keep calm we can figure this out. We can stop this storm." _Yeah, keep calm. We're screaming at the top of our lungs, crying like school children, and scared beyond reason. Fat chance of that happening._

Millions are going to die because of this storm, unless we can figure this out. We could act like fucking idiots on our own time, we needed to formulate a plan to stop all this madness.

I am trying to grab Elsa. To embrace her. To tell her that everything is going to be fine. Obviously everything is _not_ going to be fine, far from it, but I needed to comfort her before her emotional state worsened. She is fighting me though. Fighting my hug back. She doesn't want anything to do with me for some reason. While she wrestles herself away from me, I notice something white behind her sleeves. It looks like paper... it looks like...

_Bandages._

When I notice what it is, I grab Elsa's wrist, pulling her sleeve upwards. She screams my name when I did this, like I'm about to reveal some huge conspiracy hidden behind her sleeve. Maybe I am.

_They are bandages. Big bandages. Covering her entire wrist. _

"Elsa... _what is this..._"

_This can't be._

_Anything but this. _

"I... I didn't think this would ever end. I was desperate." She's now in hysterics, shouting at me. I can't believe the hotel management hasn't knocked on our door yet, telling us to stay quiet. The blizzard must be raging outside so loudly that it's even masking our screams. Maybe everyone is too scared.

"Elsa... _you..."_

"I did the only thing I could think of, Anna. The wounds on my wrists healed though, they didn't stay open."

_"Wait what?"_

"I can't die, Anna. I've tried. _My powers._ They froze over the wounds as soon as I made them. The wound marks are still there but I didn't bleed out."

I am staring at the bandages. Behind them are hesitation marks. _Deep marks._

My Elsa tried to kill herself and I wasn't there._ She tried and she couldn't. _She actively tried to end her own life and she couldn't. She was so abnormal even the universal concept of death didn't apply to her. She laughed in the face of death, impervious to it, mocking everything that us mortals feared. She was so inflicted by this curse that she wasn't even spared the dignity of death. _Life clung to her like a sickness._

Elsa, the person who I promised to protect through anything, was so desperate and alone that the only solution she could think of was to end her own life. I swore to protect her from everything, and I was too useless to even protect her from _herself._ I had failed her. I had failed my Elsa when she needed me most of all. I was too busy bumbling around trying to find her, when I never should have let her go in the first place.

But that brought me to the most important question of all. What is she?_ What the fuck is she?_ She can't be human. She was born. She had parents, yes. But she can't be a human being. She was a force of nature itself.

Whatever she was, we needed to get out of there. Every mystery and more could be sorted out, but we needed to move. Every last moment we stayed at that hotel room we risked even more danger. Kristoff probably ran off to tell Hans the moment I sprinted away. It was only a matter of time until they put everything together and realized where we were. Hans had already tried to hurt Elsa, and now, he actually had a good reason to. But Hans wasn't going to do all of this by himself, he was a coward. He was going to round up the goons and go get us, and there wasn't a storm in creation that could stop them. An entire execution squad was being formed and aimed towards Elsa right this moment.

Hans wasn't going to leave us alone until Elsa was dead. I could feel him out there, in that storm, coming for us. _Coming for my Elsa._

Only one question remained._ Everything else could wait until we found safe ground._

"Elsa..." _This is the hardest thing I have ever had to say. It's like lopping off a limb._ "What are you?"

She won't look at me. I don't think I've ever seen so much fear in a person. The hundreds of horror movies we watched couldn't have prepared us for the real thing. This was an honest to god episode of the _X-Files_ and we were Mulder and Scully, trying to deal with some paranormal force that could end the world.

"I don't know." _She's sobbing into her hands now._ _Elsa doesn't even know what she is._ How any of this started. _How to end any of this._ All I knew now was that I had a ticking time bomb strapped to my chest, and that I needed to get out of that room as soon as I could. The bomb was about to go off.

"Elsa... go fetch everything we need. We have to leave now."

"But... why Anna?"

"_Trust me,_ Elsa, we can't stay here any longer. Pack what we need, we're leaving."

She does as she is told. She's scared. More than I am, because I knew Hans at least was going to spare me. My life wasn't in as much danger as Elsa's. Elsa had a group of people literally on their way to kill her. _She was to be the sole recipient of Hans' wrath._ Surely they know the gravity of the situation, the importance of their task. They've seen the blizzard. They know what is going to happen if Elsa isn't stopped. Elsa could survive from a suicide attempt but not from an army. I'm not sure how powerful Elsa is, but I'm certain that a decapitation could stop her.

I couldn't picture a scenario where we were going to get out of this peacefully, but we needed to try. We needed to give everything we had to sort all of this out. I was going to stay, fighting with Elsa, even if it meant I didn't see tomorrow. Even if she had lied to me, she was still my Elsa. She was the victim in all of this. _She was my Elsa and I still loved her._ She hurt me, but I still loved her. Love isn't running away when things get tough. Love is staying with someone until the bitter end.

I promised I would protect Elsa no matter what. I had done an absolutely terrible job of it so far, so now it was time to prove to her that she was my everything. _She was the one born with this curse. I was only along for the ride._

She didn't take long packing her stuff. She only had one backpack to bring with her since she didn't need to worry about the effects of the cold. She had her bank card which was really the only thing we needed. I had no idea where we were going. Home wasn't an option, Hans could be there. But that bank card could carry us anywhere, miles away. All planes were grounded but we could find a vehicle that could carry us any distance away from here.

We had to run away. Run away _somewhere._ Somewhere safe.

The only problem was... _nowhere is_ _safe._ There wasn't a single place in the entire world where Elsa's power didn't have influence over. The storm wasn't just going to bury Arendelle. It was going to bury the entire world. There was not a single place on Earth that wasn't in danger until we figured out a plan.

At least if we left now, we wouldn't have to worry about the looming threat of Hans. It wasn't much of a plan, but it was the best two terrified idiots could muster up in a disaster. Honestly, this was the worst plan ever, but in our current state it was the best we could come up with. Neither of us had gotten any proper sleep in a week, we were panicking because of stress, and everything was rushed because of the urgency of the situation. Fuck, when people are ganging up and coming to kill your girlfriend, you'd be shocked how bad your thinking process becomes too.

It was time though. Time to go. I looked at her, as calmly as I could. "Are you ready to leave?"

Elsa nods. There are still a million questions left to be answered. A million thoughts I haven't told her. But we couldn't spend a single additional moment in that room. That room was death.

_"Anna?" _Uncertainty fills her words.

"Yes?"

"Do... do you still love me?"

_"Of course." Don't be ridiculous Elsa. Nothing could make me not love you. I'm too crazy to ever not love you. _The sadomasochistic connection I have developed with her will stay with me always. It's not healthy, and I can't rationally explain it, but for better or for worse, I knew that I would love Elsa always.

"I'm so sorry for this Anna. I'm so sorry for all of this. I'll explain everything later. I just need you to know that I never stopped loving you through all of this."

"I love you more than anything Elsa, now and forever."

"Me too, Anna."

"We... we're still going to have our entire futures together." _We're going to get married one day. We're going to have kids. Raise a family. We'll put all of this behind us. Pretend like this awful week never happened. We're going to spend the rest of our lives together, no matter how much more of our lives remained._

_We're hugging._ Every last second brings us closer to the inevitability of our demise, but we're weak and tired. We're two broken, obliterated young women running away from certain death. We're complete messes. The weight of the entire fate of the world was on us. We didn't know what we were about to face, what Lovecraftian horrors waited for us beyond that door. Armageddon was just hours away, seemingly, and all we had to face it was each other. Elsa was all I needed. _Elsa was_ a_ll I needed to face anything. _

We didn't know what we were doing, so the only thing we could do was to embrace for the time being.

In that moment, the tragedy finally donned on me._ This just might be our last embrace. This might be the last time I ever get to hold the love of my life. _

We're clutching each other, weeping loudly into the other person's body. Elsa was once again freezing to the touch, and for the first time I finally understood something about her I had always been curious about. _I now understood why Elsa was so cold. For the first time in forever, I finally understand._

Holding her in my arms gave me all the power I needed to fight against the forces that opposed us. Having Elsa with me brought back all the power I needed to face the world. I hope my presence gave Elsa just as much confidence. Truth be told nothing made me more ready to deal with the world than Elsa. I could take on anything with her as my sidekick. We had both the apocalypse and an army looming against us, but with Elsa, I knew that we'd be okay. We have to be.

It was now time to go though. We both knew we couldn't fuck around for one moment longer. It was time to go. We held hands tightly. I looked into Elsa's big crystal blue eyes. Her make-up was smeared. She had dark circles around her eyes, confirming that she hadn't slept in days. Her face is plastered with a thick layer of sweat and her clothing is still drenched in water, wrinkled and beaten.

Her blonde, platinum hair is badly tangled and it didn't look like she had washed it in a week. _Elsa loved her hair._ She cherished her hair more than people cherish life. She took better care of her hair than some people take of their children. Elsa must have lived through hell if it meant she was neglecting her hair this badly. What a sight.

Even considering all of this, she was still beautiful exceeding description.

Even though it looked like she's been buried alive, she was still the most striking thing I have ever seen. She was beauty personified. Her elegance stayed with her always, no matter what state of appearance she was in. In this moment, I saw more life inside of Elsa than I have ever seen. Only when you're within the striking distance of death, can you ever appreciate the value of life. I know that sounds corny, and a little insane, but it's absolutely true.

"Let's go, Elsa."

"I'm ready."

"This... this isn't going to end well, is it?"

"Probably not."

"That's basically what I thought, yeah."

We're leaving now. It was time to face everything. Together. To the bitter end.

_I was prepared to die for Elsa. _I'm sure I was going to. Our chances didn't look promising. But nothing was going to prevent us from trying. We were prepared to die together if that's what it took to stop this.


	17. They've come to kill my girlfriend

Finally, the two of us are out the door. It took a lot of willpower; but we're out.

We step into the hallway of the hotel. I've never seen this particular hallway before, because the only time I've ever been here was when Elsa was dragging me unconsciously through it. She knew the way, so I followed her. Maybe it was because we were running for our lives, but I found the atmosphere in that hotel really creepy. The lighting seemed unnatural, the wallpaper looked like something out of Amityville, and it was just ominously quiet. _Too quiet._ If there's one thing watching horror movies with Elsa has taught me, it's that when things are quiet, something fucking bad is going to happen. Good lord was that an understatement.

As we sprinted for our lives through the corridors of this frightening, creepy-ass hotel, I couldn't help but be reminded of simpler times. You know, memories of times when people weren't, like, trying to kill us. When we were building snowmen and stuff like that.

* * *

_"Elsa."_

"Yes Anna?" I am in Elsa's room, on her computer. She doesn't seem to be concerned. If she wanted to hide her browsing history, she was doing a pretty good job of maintaining her poker face. I was disappointed there weren't any apparent web links to lesbian bondage porn or anything like that. Not that it was stuff I was into, but for some reason, I always pegged Elsa as a kinky person. I was certain she had some obscure fetishes I wanted to find out about. I was shocked to find a perfectly normal web history. _She could have deleted it, though..._

"I'm going through your browsing history."

"Uh-huh."

_Yeah, she had nothing to hide. _"You were searching links for _black hair_?"

"Hair dye, yeah." She is casually sitting on her bed, reading a magazine of some sort. Punk Rock Weekly or something. Probably an interview with Robert Smith or some other depressing musician she was enamored by. At times like this, I am reminded that Elsa is the most relaxed, easy-going person I have ever met. I'm manic and constantly up the wall, though surprisingly, Elsa never seemed to be annoyed by my antics. I was the perfect embodiment of the ADD-generation. Elsa was vintage and classical right down to her bones.

"Why were you searching black hair dye?"

"Well duh, because I wanted to dye my hair black."

_Oh please god no. I love your platinum blonde hair more than anything._ I don't think I would have fallen in love with her if it wasn't for her blonde hair. She had one of the most beautiful heads of hair I have ever seen. Her stunning, pale blonde locks made her look like a model from a hair-care commercial. And in a humongous coincidence, she was even fond of braiding it. I thought I was the only girl who braided her hair these days, but no, Elsa and I were two peas in a pod. I loved her sexy hair just as much as I loved her, which was a damn lot.

_Of course, I haven't told her that I loved her yet._ It's only been a week since she first even started talking to me. She was still awkward and stilted around me, but somehow, she wasn't telling me to leave her the fuck alone. I took that as a good omen. We've come a long way since when we first met, awkwardly talking about homework and her underwear.

"But... you told me your hair has always been crystal like that. Why change it?"

"Well. Um, everything else I own is black, so I might as well have black hair, shouldn't I? And besides, I've only been thinking about it, I haven't decided anything yet."

"Are you crazy?!" _Don't protest too much Anna, Elsa has the ability to see right through your bullshit._ "What would your friends think if you suddenly started rocking black hair?"

_"My friends?"_

"Yeah, Elsa, what would your _friends_ think about that?"

Elsa paused. She was thinking very deeply about this answer. Her face scrunches up in this adorable little pose when she thinks too much. She tilts her mouth to the side and I honestly just want to run over there and maul her. She's so fucking cute. Everything about Elsa is cute, but this one detail in particular has always just made me lose my stuff. She makes it every time she thinks about anything too deeply. I'm not even sure if she's aware of it, it's just something she naturally does. Which makes it even more adorable.

"I don't any have friends, Anna."

"You mean... besides me?" _By the way, that "I don't have any friends" thing is inadvertently the cutest thing ever. I just want to hold her so badly._

"We're friends?"

"Of course we're friends."

"Oh." _Elsa looked relieved, actually._ "Well, I guess I do have one friend then. _You._"

"Exactly! So, as your only friend, I order, no, _demand_, that you do not touch your hair for the foreseeable future. You look perfect as a blonde and you will not be changing that."

Elsa was smiling this bright, glowing smile that made me want to jump on that bed with her and tear her clothing off. I didn't think it was possible for a person to have so much lust for someone they thought was so adorable. She was cute like a kitten and yet sexy like a... well nothing is as sexy as Elsa. Have you ever hung out with a person who just captured your attention so intensely, that you lost your mind every damn time they talked? That was me with Elsa. I would stare at her when she wasn't looking in my direction. I would stare at her and pine to just hold her. I didn't do this too often though, just every waking moment I spent with her.

You know that period when you're first falling in love with a person, where every little thing they do is amazing and adorable? That honeymoon phase where you're so enamored by them it makes you irrational? Well, I was still in that phase. I never left that phase, when it came to Elsa. She always drove me crazy with lust. There was never one moment with Elsa where I wasn't happier thanks to her just being there. There never will be.

She's smiling this bright, fragile little smile. She's happy but it doesn't even look like she knows why. "I guess that's decided then. For the time being, I'll keep my hair blonde."

"You know, speaking of black though, that raises a fair point. What's with all the black?"

Elsa shrugged. "I've been wearing black for my entire life. It's just what I'm used to."

"Yeah, but, _why?_"

"People don't notice you when you wear black. They leave you alone."

"Yeah but why do you want to be left alone though? Are you trying to hide something?" _Man, if only I knew at the time._

"No. I just prefer to keep to myself."

"Well, you can keep out as many people as you want, but that isn't going to make anything better Elsa! Besides you couldn't keep me out. You're stuck as my best friend now forever."

Elsa cocked her head playfully. "Who said you were my best friend?"

"You did, silly! You said I was your only friend... so by default, that declares me as your best friend."

"You're crazy," she giggles. "Let's get something to eat."

"You're paying!"

"I always pay!"

"And isn't it awesome?" You can't hide from me, Elsa. You can't conceal from me like you do to other people. I looked through your browsing history. I saw your "red heads are cute" search from a few days ago.

I know you Elsa. I know you better than you know yourself. You can wear all black every day until the end of time, but you can't scare me away. I'm going to be with you until the end of the world. Your goth shtick doesn't bother me. Fuck, I've always liked goth chicks. She never actually called herself goth, though. She never subscribed to any kind of subculture or fashion style. She wasn't _this,_ or _that. _She was just_ Elsa. _She just _was._ She was herself in every detail imaginable. She didn't care what anyone else thought about her. Not a moment of her life has ever been spent considering the ill thoughts of people around her. She was refreshingly, defiantly unique. It made her one of a kind.

She liked herself, and she didn't give a damn what anyone else thought. If that meant she had to live alone, away from other people to have her freedom, then so be it. If you weren't okay with that, well then, too fucking bad.

She was, for all intensive purposes, my favorite person ever. I loved her with all of my might. She's the kind of person you only get to know once in your entire life. She's the kind of person who _completes_ your life.

* * *

_But, back to the present._ The present isn't quite as lovely.

We're frantically running for our lives, away from an unseen force of unimaginable horror. Running through the empty corridors of this hotel._ Where the fuck is everyone? _Shouldn't a hotel like this be full of people during a storm like this? Did everyone just go off and die all of a sudden?

The halls all look alike. They're reminiscent of the halls from one of Elsa's favorite movies, _The Shining._ I don't think even Elsa ever thought that one day we'd be living in that movie. We were Shelly Duvall, and Jack Nicholson was just behind us, brandishing an axe with the intent of ripping us both into pieces.

I hate using another movie reference at a time like this, but I was feeling like Linda Hamilton in _Terminator 2 _when she's trying to escape from the Terminator. Every time we turned a corner I imagined Hans appearing, with a shot-gun and a leather jacket. "_Hasta la vista, baby"_ and then boom, we'd both be dead. It seemed like what was actually going to happen was to be equally as morbid.

That's how fucked we were, that _The Terminator _and_ The Shining_ were the only two movies that accurately described our situation. It doesn't get more fucked than us right now.

We sprinted with the last few bits of energy we both still had. Sprinted from something that we didn't even know existed. We were now at the bottom floor of the hotel. If an ambush was waiting for us, then this was going to be the time it would happen. We were so close to the exit. So close to running outside together, and then running through the snow until we found someone willing to pick us up. We'd drive to New Mexico where we could have lived happily ever after, like two Princesses in a movie. With every heavy breath that my body emitted, we were closer to freedom. Closer to escaping this nightmare once and for all. So much closer to our happy ending.

_So close. _

_And yet so far._

_"She's here!"_

Me and Elsa stopped dead in our tracks, sliding mid-step to a halt. Panic struck me like a bag of bricks. I looked over at Elsa, who was frozen in terror at what she was seeing. I probably looked just as scared. It was one of those moments where life seems to be moving in slow motion, like a scene out of a horror movie. Elsa and I were silent in fear, but I'm certain that she could hear my heart beating from where she was standing. _I have never been more petrified. _

It _was_ Hans. He was waiting just beyond the entrance. It made sense. He couldn't figure out where we were staying at the hotel, so camping out at the entrance was the most efficient thing to do. Why hunt for your prey, when you can wait around until your prey comes to you. His plan simply was more brilliant than ours. The only logical place for us to be hiding was in the hotel right next to that mall; there was no where else we could have gone during a storm like that. If this was some kind of sick chess game, then Hans was simply winning over all our pieces. So far he was kicking our asses all over the place.

While a complete asshole and a despicable person, he was a master planner. That's why I've always been so afraid of him. He tracked us down like a wild animal.

Or maybe him or Kristoff just saw Elsa dragging me back here..._ That was more likely, actually. _Elsa made no attempt to hide her tracks. In retrospect, it was an obvious, fatal flaw, and we missed it completely.

Hans wasn't playing around. He wasn't going to let us win this chess game even if it meant he was going to have to cheat. He brought reinforcements. Kristoff was there, with two boys I had never met. I'm fairly sure they were two exchange students from Weselton. Ironic that two exchange students were here to kill Elsa, another exchange student. They've probably never even met her and yet here they were, just as ready to murder her.

But the other boys were not why me and Elsa were so terrified. Kristoff and the other two nameless boys were holding crossbows. Hunting crossbows. Big, intimidating, fearsome weapons that were aimed and pointed right at me and Elsa. I'm not sure if you've ever had a crossbow or any kind of weapon aimed towards you, but it completely shuts your thought process down.

Well, it looked like they were pointed at Elsa, mostly.

"Get away from the monster, Anna" _Hans was ordering me to get away from the person, who just moments ago, I swore I was going to protect right down to my last dying breath. Yeah, fat chance asshole. _

And what did he mean..._ the monster? Does he mean my Elsa? A monster?_

Me and Elsa were frozen in place. When we refused to reply, Hans continued. There was sinister intent in his tone. "Get the fuck away from her now, Anna."

"No! _Never._ I would never leave Elsa!"

Hans, the only one not holding a weapon, launched into another of his ridiculous threats. "Don't make us have to do this Anna. Elsa is a goddamn monster. At first we were contempt with just keeping her away from you, but it's time this ends now. _Haven't you seen the weather?_"

I shield Elsa with my own body, though she tries to stop me. _Don't worry Elsa, they won't hurt me... at least, I don't think so. _"Hans, please, stop this. We're trying to figure this out."

"_Figure this out?_ You don't understand Anna. This is isn't some stupid schoolyard crush we're concerned with. This is the end of the world. That _thing_ behind you is going to cause the end of the fucking world. Initially, we were just trying to protect you from her but now this needs to end. This abomination and her goddamn storm needs to end."

_Protect me? From Elsa?! _She's not the one aiming crossbows at me and threatening me. Wait... where did Hans even get crossbows... ? Wait, these two boys, aren't they from the archery team or something? Isn't Weselton some kind of trading nation with all kinds of weird practices and traditions? But the most important question; i_s Hans out of his goddamn fucking mind?!_

"I'm not moving. Shoot me if you want, but I'm not moving." I am defiant in my words. I'm trying hard to be brave but it's not easy. They can see right through my intent.

"You're not moving, eh?"

_"_No._ Never."_

"Kristoff. Go move her."

Kristoff handed his crossbow over to Hans, who in turn pointed it right at us like he intended to impale us both. Kristoff was moving towards us now, with his giant, hulking demeanor he looked like he could have ripped both of our heads off if he wanted. "Kristoff _please!_" I am shrieking, pleading with someone who used to call me his best friend. He doesn't pause even for a second. He continues to move towards us both, imposingly. _You know, now that I think about, he was never really my best friend. Elsa was and always will be, my best friend._

He grabs me, quite effortlessly. I am attempting to fight back but none of my efforts are having any noticeable effect. It's no use. The blonde was a giant, and I was already too weak from exhaustion to stop him.

Elsa attempts to lunge forward, but Kristoff easily pushes her to the ground, quite hard. She lands with a loud thud, smashing into the floor like a rag doll. Kristoff carries me to safety, away from the arrows which are now all pointed at Elsa's direction. She is to be the lone target of Hans' gallery of death, and I was too weak to do anything about this.

In my fruitless struggles, I ask the only question I can think of. "Why Kristoff? _Why?_" It's hard to breath with him handling me so rough.

"It's for your own good, Anna. You don't understand how dangerous Elsa is. We're only thinking about your safety."

"Hans is only thinking about how to ruin my life! He's hated me ever since I left his stupid ass! He hates me. He hates Elsa. So_,_ he's convinced all you idiots that killing an innocent, helpless person, is going to make anything better!"

Hans is smiling at me. It doesn't matter if I'm wrong or right, it isn't going to prevent Hans from doing anything. The moral high ground meant nothing to Hans. He was going to checkmate me even if it meant he had to burn the entire chess game to the ground. Everything. The chess board, the pieces, the table, the entire house. Both players. Everything. Whatever got in the way of Hans' vendetta was going to be scorched to the ground. Nothing could stop this piece of shit from getting what he wanted. He was just as much of a force of nature as Elsa was, and Elsa didn't have crossbows. I'd say that for now, the advantage was on Hans' side.

I try to talk some reason into them again. I'm pleading as desperately as I can but it doesn't seem to have any noticeable effect. "You hated that I didn't want to be with you any more. You've hated me ever since, you've hated Elsa since the moment you met her, _and now,_ because of that, just to spite me, **_you're going to kill my girlfriend!_**_"_

_Still nothing. _

My words fell on deaf ears. They disregarded me and returned to arming their weapons. Aiming them straight at Elsa, who was still on the floor, fearing for her life. I was pleading for them to leave her alone. Whatever she might have done to hurt anyone was not her conscious decision. She didn't do any of this on purpose. She didn't deserve to die. She was the _victim_ here. If anybody deserved to die, it was Hans, for orchestrating this entire witch-hunt.

The two nameless boys looked at Hans. They were deciding to see who deserved the honors. Hans was the clear front-runner. He was elected to kill Elsa. He was ready too, and quite visibly excited. I tried to kick at Kristoff and have him let me go, but he was a solid wall of bricks. Nothing I could muster could prevent what was about to happen.

Hans pulled the wire back on the bow. I'm not sure what it's called. The thing you pull back when you want to strip someone of their life. He steadies his aim, and fires. Time is now occurring in slow motion. I can see the arrow flying through the air. Gliding at Elsa, who is screaming now, on the ground, helpless. My Elsa is about to die and there was nothing I could do to help her. I had failed her. _I had failed myself._ I let Elsa die. I was just as much to blame as Hans was. This was all my fault.

It was my fault that Hans and Kristoff were even after her in the first place. If I had not intervened, Elsa would still be lonely. _But at least she wouldn't be dead._ I doomed Elsa to all of this. Without my influence, Elsa probably would have spent the rest of her life all alone, but at least she wouldn't be about to die. I don't think a life all alone was much of a life, but it was better than an arrow in your kidney.

I saw that arrow glide through the air, targeted towards my Elsa.

I watched it in horror, counting down the seconds until it pierced her flesh and presumably killed her.

It never hit her though. The arrow never even got within a foot of Elsa.


	18. There will be blood

The anticipation was too much for me to handle.

I closed my eyes when the arrow was shot at my Elsa. If she was about to die, then it was a sight I couldn't bring myself to witness. I expected to hear her yell just a second later, followed by the sounds of anguished sobbing. I was waiting for the unmistakable sounds of a dying woman. I had no idea what the sounds of a dying person sounded like, but I was sure I was about to find out. And from my _Elsa,_ of all people.

I can't imagine anything more horrifying than having to hear the love of your life being speared to death just meters away from you, unable to help her in any way. It's a fate I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy, even Hans. This is the kind of carnage I was used to in the horror movies me and Elsa watched together, not real life.

They never arrived though. The sounds of terror never came.

Just mere seconds ago, I was ready to scream out to Elsa to run. Even though Kristoff was holding me, I was doing everything in my power to try to stop him and the small army that Hans managed to assemble. Kristoff cradled me in a tight embrace, lifting me off my feet. I was as useful to Elsa as a paper doll in a razor blade factory. The only thing I could do was scream out to Elsa, begging her to run away as fast as she could. It was the only thing she could do, I thought.

I've seen her run. I know she can sprint when she needs to. In this situation, her life depended on it. But Elsa didn't run away from her attackers, no. She didn't have to.

Now her _attackers_ looked like they were about to run away from _her_.

Luckily, I was on Elsa's side. Why? Because she was about to win this war.

Silence. Deafening, maddening silence permeated the hallway of that hotel. _Why am I hearing silence?_ I should be hearing screaming and mutilation, not tense, eerie silence. After a few unbearable moments, I decide to open my eyes. When I pry my eyelids open, I was delighted to the sight of Elsa, standing proud. She had taken a battle stance. Confidence brimming in her composure, she stood like she could take anything on. Knowing Elsa the way that I did, I was certain she could.

A moment ago, I thought she was doomed. Destined to the inevitability of certain death. Now? Now I was fucking laughing at the situation. _Laughing at Hans._ Laughing at the thought that Hans and his bumbling army could ever take on someone as powerful as Elsa. It was ludicrous, absolutely heretic, to think that _any_ mere mortal could stop someone as indestructible as Elsa. _Hans is fucked. Really, really fucked._

How did she survive the arrow? A pillar of ice bloomed out from the ground, shielding her from the attack. Elsa grew this pillar of ice out of thin air, like the one she had created to protect me from the car. In a mere heartbeat, Elsa conjured up a solid, impenetrable wall that blocked the arrow dead in its tracks. The arrow never managed to pierce the mass of the beam of ice. Not even close.

Elsa was safe. Sure, technically, she had no control of her powers. But they came to her rescue anyway, right at the nick of time. Unconsciously, she had saved her own life through the influence of her powers. Her abilities were seemingly endless. Just when you thought she was done with showcasing her talents, she pulled a new feat of strength out of her ass that made her even more dazzling.

As I observed Elsa, posed triumphantly in her battle stance, I couldn't help but think that, holy shit, _Elsa was a goddamn __bad-ass_. She didn't need anyone else to come to her rescue. She didn't need a knight in shining armor to protect her from the forces of darkness. _My Elsa was no damsel in distress._ She was going to save us both from this situation. With Elsa on my side, I was going to be perfectly fine, one way or another. She was _my_ night in shining armor. _  
_

The tension in that small, cramped corridor shifted considerably. The adrenaline and testosterone that filled the air had gone sour. There was still the undeniable feeling that a hunt was taking place, but now it wasn't Elsa who was being hunted.

_It was the boys. Hunted by Elsa. _The hunters have devolved into the hunted.

They thought it was going to be so easy. But Elsa is a force of nature. An immovable object. And Hans and his gang of buffoons were no unstoppable force.

"Hans... what... what are we going to do..." Kristoff's voice is trembling, shaking in fear. He can barely even talk coherently.

"I... I don't know."

The look of shock on Hans' face was priceless. Just a moment before, this sick little grimace was painted on his face. Now he had an expression of pure, unadulterated horror. He was scared shitless. It was beautiful seeing that bully who had so many times taken delight in the plight and suffering of others, now fearing for his own life. The poetic justice was made even more sweet, because it was Elsa who was turning the tables on this sad prick.

The looks on all four boys was that of shock. They were cowering in fear, all facing towards Elsa. _What a sight._ Four large boys with weapons were terrified of a small, skinny girl, who stood alone on the opposite side of the hall. They really thought they stood a viable chance against her. _Not even fucking close. _

I looked back at Elsa. She was brimming with hatred. Dripping with blood-thirsty intent. She had a murderous scowl on her face. For the first time in forever, _I_ was actually afraid of Elsa. She had been pushed too far. This was the final straw, the one that broke the goth girl's back. There's only so much misery you can put a person through before they crack and take their frustrations out on their instigators. Elsa, as much as I love her, has always been a little nutty. Getting a platoon of arrows shot at her, well, that was all she needed to get pushed off the deep end.

I've known Elsa for a very long time. Probably better than anyone. Even I have never seen her so angry. She looked like she was about to kill every single one of them, and I knew she had the means to do it. She was livid with destruction. I was on Elsa's side and all, but I couldn't help but be a little scared myself, with the kind of vibe that Elsa was giving off. You could _feel_ the hatred dripping off of her from the other side of the hall.

Staring at her, I knew one thing. One thing that seemed absolutely clear. Blood was about to line the floors of this corridor. I was scared. _I was scared of Elsa. _

Hans and his three subordinates were now frozen in dismay. They were shaking visibly. Clearly they thought that killing Elsa was going to be a simple ordeal. Hans planned for everything, but not even he had the foresight to predict something like _this. _This was truly something out of a horror movie. Not even in your wildest imagination could you create a situation as dark and twisted as this. Frightened and retreading, the group of boys lowered their weapons. They knew they were useless against something like Elsa.

Elsa was now walking towards them.

No longer was Elsa comprised by fear. She was now reaching her full potential for the first time and it was a horrifying sight, for all of us. Nothing could hold her back anymore. She had finally let it all go.

Hans was trembling, eyes bulging out of his face. He was desperate. He did the only thing he could do. Rather than admit defeat, he was going to sail this ship right until it crashed into the rocks. "What are you idiots doing standing around doing nothing?! _Shoot her!_"

Three more arrows flew at Elsa, and every one of them was prevented by a wall of ice. Without blinking, without even losing her eye contact with the attackers, Elsa made these jagged shards of ice rapture from the ground, shielding her from the assault. During all of this, Elsa kept walking uninterrupted towards the boys. Each and every arrow was held back by a pillar of indestructible ice that blossomed out of the ground as quickly as the arrows were shot. Effortlessly, Elsa conducted an entire orchestra of ice all around her.

One of the nameless boys approached Elsa, now made irrational with fear, he tried shooting her within a close distance. It had no effect. Another wall of ice guarded Elsa. Nothing in this world, not even me likely, was going to have the power to stop Elsa from advancing on her three attackers. Kristoff backed away from her, still holding me prisoner, and I assumed he was in just as much danger as Hans and the two goons. There was nothing I could actively do, because this was not _my_ Elsa anymore. She's been possessed, driven momentarily insane by the attacks.

The nameless boy from Weselton panicked and tried to reload his weapon when he should have backed away from her in retreat like Hans was doing. Elsa wasn't going to have any of this. Every subsequent arrow that was fired against her drove her just a little bit more crazy, and a little bit more dangerous and uncontrollable. Elsa's anger was bubbling upwards, and now, it was about to be unleashed.

The boy fumbled with his ammo, and the arrow dropped to the ground. He was helpless. Elsa flicked her wrist at him, and out of the ground came pillars of ice stabbing at him. They impaled him. Ripped through his flesh, pinning him to the wall. I have seen similar things happen in movies but it was another sight altogether seeing it take place in real life. The pillars gored through his chest and stomach, ripping away at his fragile flesh. Skewered by Elsa's ice formations, the boy screamed out. It was the most disgusting, sickening thing I have ever seen. It was the most horrifying sight yet, in a long parade of horrors.

Elsa didn't let him suffer for long. He was dead in an instant. _I couldn't believe my eyes._ Elsa's anger knew no bounds. She murdered someone right in front of me, stripping this boy of his life like it was nothing. _I__t was nothing, to Elsa._ She was _that_ powerful. Mutilating a person was possible just through a flicker of her wrist. She had control of the goddamn elements. Humans were made out of tissue paper compared to the things that Elsa could manipulate.

Elsa was the most powerful force on earth. She was awe-inspiring and at the same time, her actions were revolting. I watched in fascination at what Elsa was going to do next. She continued advancing at a leisurely pace. She was taking her time. She was _enjoying_ prolonging this.

The morale of her attackers dissipated after the first spearing. Hans dropped his weapon and fell to the floor. Kristoff was still holding me but now it was more like he was positioning me like a shield against Elsa. The other boy was now running as fast as he could down the hall. He sprinted like a marathon runner.

Another, larger wall of ice grew out of the ground, smashing into the boy as he was running away. It was pushing him down the hallway. He was obviously trying to hold it back but even with his entire weight against it, the wall of ice was moving like he was as light as a feather. He was a big guy, but there wasn't anything he could do against a wall of fucking ice created by a force of nature. Fighting back was like trying to avoid raindrops during a rainstorm.

The wall of ice propelled him all the way to the end of the corridor. He was now pinned against the wall. It looked like the ice was going to press him to death. I heard his bones snapping, his arms breaking in their sockets. Have you ever heard the sound of bones snapping? As in multiple bones snapping at the same time? It's like the sound of popcorn popping, except with human flesh. He was screaming for help which clearly didn't do him much good. I thought that he was going to burst into an explosion of gore, until I saw the wall break away against the weight.

It was an elevator.

"Help... me..." The boy's pleading is muffled. It might have been from the broken jaw fragments he was chewing on.

The wall of ice pushed him down the elevator shaft, and then fell down the shaft over him. I heard two loud crashes a second after each other. First him hitting the ground, and then the wall of ice falling on top of him, crushing what was left. There was no absolute way of knowing, but I could sense that he was dead. Considering the situation, he was about as dead as anyone could be. Elsa dismissed these two goons like it was nothing. It _was_ nothing, to her.

Hans was the one who deployed the goons. Elsa was the one who was calling them back.

Elsa was still walking. She was _still_ walking down the hall. Not in any rush, either. Casually, calmly, walking like a villain out of a slasher film. She was now _Carrie_ after the prom and she wasn't going to rest until everyone who harmed her was dead. I would have screamed at her to stop but I was too tranquilized by the realization of what was going on. I had just witnessed two murders over the span of two minutes and I was having a hard time grasping the gravity of the situation.

Before you scold me for not doing anything to help the two Weselton boys, trust me, I tried. I wanted to plead to Elsa to stop, but words failed me. I was so petrified that my tongue was absent from my mouth. Besides your occasional bout of muffled screaming, the hall was completely silent throughout the whole thing. No one made a single noise. Everyone was too panicked to try to convince Elsa to stop what she was doing. What would you say? _Hey, Elsa, I know you've gone crazy, but can you please stop murdering the fuck out of these dudes who were trying to kill you? Yes? Mmkay, thanks. _

Regardless, though; now there were two.

Hans made a mad dash for it down the other corridor. Unlike the other boy, Hans made a right, turning away from Elsa's visibility. The other boy ran straight into a dead-end. _Some people are just too stupid to live. _This simple, hair-brained decision was all Hans had to do to secure his life, for the time being. Isn't it amazing that a small little decision like that can save your life? Or perhaps, Hans was just trying to avoid the trail of blood that lead down the broken elevator shaft.

That left only Kristoff, who was still holding me. The only survivor of Hans' little death squad. The only soldier still standing for his army. The others were either cowards or dead. I was happy I wasn't Kristoff in that moment. It was solely him against Elsa, and his chances didn't look promising.

Kristoff retreated a knife that was sheathed behind his back. He held it right up to my neck. I could feel the harsh, cold steel pressed against me. I wasn't intimidated though. I felt sorry for him, because now he was about to withstand Elsa's wrath all on his own. Poor guy. _I don't know about you Kristoff, but threatening her girlfriend didn't seem like such a good idea at the time. Didn't work all that well for Hans or the other two boys. _

Elsa was not phased by the threat. If it was a bluff, it wasn't a very good one. She was still expressionless, stoic in her appearance. She advanced further, casual footstep after casual footstep. If she was afraid for me it wasn't showing. She looked like she was out on a stroll around the park, not advancing on a guy holding her girlfriend at knife point. You've never seen someone so calm, and trust me, I was used to Elsa being abnormally relaxed.

Kristoff, on the other hand, was a mess. He could hardly articulate himself. "If you... if you don't get back I'm going to hurt Anna..."

Elsa kept advancing.

"I'm serious, get the fuck away from me, _you lunatic!" _

Elsa kept advancing.

"Do you... do you understand me you crazy bitch? Get away from me or I'm going to hurt Anna!"

Elsa kept advancing.

"This... this is your last warning... one... one more step and Anna is going to get it, I swear..."

_Elsa kept advancing. _

Kristoff's hands were shaking. He barely even had a grip on me anymore he was so weak with fright. He was holding the knife against my neck as meekly as he could, not confident in his own actions. You need commitment to threaten someone. Elsa was holding all the cards here.

With a gust of wind flickering from her wrist, Elsa blew the knife out of Kristoff's hand, which was tossed with such momentum that it embedded itself into the wall. Kristoff was now in hysterics, dropping me to my knees. His eyes were bulging so far out of his face I thought they were going to fall out of his head. He ran off too, picking up one of the discarded crossbows. He took down the hall faster than I have ever seen anyone run, and trust me, I've seen him run before. Elsa was about to flick her wrist again but Kristoff disappeared down a stairwell away from Elsa's line of vision. It was a great decision on his part, because Elsa was just as willing to rip him into pieces as the other two boys.

Vaguely, Kristoff and Elsa were friends once. More of a _friend of a friend_ type of situation, though. Elsa knew Kristoff, because she knew me. They were never very close. Elsa was always awkward and uncomfortable around Kristoff, but she did like him. Even considering the faint relationship they once had, Elsa was still just as ready to tear the blonde into pieces. Isn't it funny how quickly friendships can die like that? Me and Kristoff were friends too, once. And yet just mere moments ago, he held a knife to my throat, threatening to slit it open. Friendships run their course pretty quickly when the world is on the verge of ending.

Elsa kept walking though. Kristoff was gone, but you could still hear Hans' footsteps as he ran down the opposite hall. To make him even more noticeable, he was still loudly yelling like an idiot. He was making such a commotion that I couldn't fathom why no one had come down to see what was happening. We had mere moments before someone discovered what was going on down here. I prayed no one would discover what was going on, in fear that they would join the massacre. There was no telling what was going to happen.

You could still hear that idiot Hans yelling._ "Someone! Anyone! Please, I'm being attacked!"_ Funny how quickly Hans was willing to beg for help when it was him, who initially began the attack. "**_The snow queen is out of her fucking mind!"_**

Elsa kept advancing, now chasing down Hans. He was the last target in Elsa's mind. Her biggest bully, the person who has given her more stress and anguish than anyone else has. I knew this wasn't going to be over until she took care of Hans. She passed where I was laying, still in the position that Kristoff dropped me in. She wasn't concerned with me in that moment though. The murderous rage was still boiling inside of her. She might not get Kristoff but Hans was her main target anyway.

_"Elsa!"_ I was pleading for her to stop. Hans was an awful human being but I couldn't justify any more death. I was on Elsa's side at first, when she was striking back in self-defense, but now she was on a bloody vendetta. The fact that she didn't even care if I was fine or not forewarned me that Elsa was possessed, with murderous intent. Nothing was going to be able to stop her.

_Not even me._

I try to get up from where I was laying, trying to stop her in some way. _If a group of boys with crossbows and knifes couldn't stop her, what makes you think you can?_ I can't move though. A coating of ice appears on my legs. My leg is frozen to the ground, pinning me into position. _I cannot move._ Whatever she was going to go do, she didn't want me interfering. Maybe for my own sake, maybe because I could get in the way, or maybe because she didn't want anything to stop her from killing the fuck out of Hans.

I couldn't remember whether or not if Hans had kept his crossbow with him when he fled, but it wouldn't make any difference one way or another against Elsa. If Hans came back with a battalion of army tanks, I still refused to believe that could stop Elsa.

I tried to pry my leg from the ground but it was frozen in place very securely. I wasn't going anywhere. A team of men with axes weren't going to free me from this. There was nothing my tired-ass was going to accomplish. I watched as Elsa kept walking, eventually turning the corridor where Hans was. I watched her disappear from my sight. There was nothing I could do. I reached my arm out towards her, desperately pawing at air, trying to reach her. I grabbed in her direction so hard it felt like my arm was about to come lose from its socket. I did everything in my power, trying to stop Elsa. But like usual, it wasn't enough.

Fuck, I was so sick tired of being so useless compared to Elsa and her infinite power. It wasn't fair. I was dealing with otherworldly powers here, and I was a mere ant compared to Elsa. Me, Hans, and Kristoff were all ants. And Elsa was a black, stiletto boot ready to rain on our parade.

For the time being, I am paralyzed in place. Elsa has bound me to the ground, sheltering me away from any subsequent violence. Horrifying thoughts are dancing around my head. I didn't even want to begin to think about what she was going to do to Hans now. There was nothing I could do any more. Whatever was about to happen, Elsa was going to do it alone. Whatever carnage that was about to unfold, was now on her.

My Elsa is not going to stop until everybody is dead. My Elsa is not going to stop until she enacts her revenge. Outside, the storm is still furious, threatening to end the world. We are on the edge of the end of the world, and Elsa is the one who is going to push us over that edge.

There's an apocalyptic blizzard violently raging outside, and a massacre going on inside. I wasn't sure where was safer, exactly. I eventually needed to deal with both. You need to get up pretty early in the morning to be as fucked over as I was today. Believe it or not, it was about to get even worse.


	19. Kill Hans Volume I & II

Elsa pursued Hans down the corridor of the hotel, preoccupied with only one conscious thought. _His demise._

But, before we return to the chaos, just let me address one thought of mine.

You know, maybe it's because my girlfriend is chasing a guy, trying to kill him, or maybe it's because my leg is frozen in place to the ground, but I have to say... where did everything go so wrong? What the hell did I, the innocent redhead from English class, do to deserve all of this? I'm not the greatest person since Mother Teresa by any means, but, like, I'm a pretty nice person. At least I'd like to think so. I'm certain that I'm not deserving of _this, _anyway. I'm certain I've never done anything to deserve my girlfriend going berserk and murdering a duo of boys. Actually, was I deserving of having a girlfriend with a magical curse _at all? _Was I Hitler in another past life or something?

Shit, like, where did everything go so damn wrong? Elsa and I haven't always had the most stable relationship, not by a long shot, but we always made everything work. We were always there for each other, we were always open and intimate, and most importantly, we were always happy with each other. I truly thought that Elsa and I were going to spend our entire lives together. I have _never_ felt this way about _anyone_ before, until I met Elsa. When she, er, decided to murder the life out of the two Weselton boys... yeah, talk about throwing a wrench into our relationship. Totally not cool, hun.

But, yeah, back to the hotel corridor. I can contemplate the state of my relationship with Elsa afterwards. Assuming we both survive long enough for us to still have a relationship. Until then, let's get back to our regularly scheduled massacre.

She had more in common with Jason Voorhees than her regular self right now. She was a woman _possessed_. Hans was literally running for his life from her, sprinting as fast and as recklessly as he could. He was making these giant, hurried leaps, doing everything in his power to create as much distance between him and his attacker as possible. Elsa lagged behind him though, chasing after him at a leisurely pace. She was walking as calmly as she could, not a care in the world. If this was the animal kingdom, then Elsa was not the kind of hunter who would run after her prey. She was the meticulous, calculated kind of animal who would lay back and stalk her prey until the _prey_ made a mistake.

She didn't need to chase after Hans. There was nothing he could do to stop Elsa, so all she had to do was lay back and wait for Hans to fuck up. It was bound to happen eventually. It was not a matter of _if, _it was a matter of_ when_. He was terrified out of his mind. Just a moment ago, he watched the same girl murder two of his friends. She murdered them like someone swatting flies. And now that same girl, was after him. To make things even worse, she was angrier than ever.

Elsa was consumed purely with her desire to make Hans suffer for all of his cruelness. For every last ounce of suffering Hans has inflicted to Elsa, she was determined to pay that back ten fold. Not a single source of aggravation was going to be left unaccounted for.

Hans has teased, bullied, and assaulted Elsa. He downright made her life a living hell for the first few weeks they knew each other. Hans was the reason why Elsa didn't have any friends besides me, and why everyone thought she was such a fucking psycho (although, based on recent developments, I must admit Hans was right about this particular point to a degree). Hans was the one who convinced everyone at school that Elsa was a future serial killer, and actively campaigned against her socially. Hans was also the one who had planned to attack her. _Twice. _He was the reason why she was attacked at the cafeteria all those many months ago, and he was the reason behind this entire witch-hunt.

_Everything_ was because of Hans. He orchestrated _everything._ No one has made Elsa as miserable as Hans. He tried to ruin, and then eventually when that wasn't enough, _end_ her life. Neither attempt has succeeded. Elsa was too smart. She was too cunning. She was _too powerful_ to play the role of the victim. If anybody deserved to hate Hans, it was Elsa. But _killing him?_ I couldn't defend that no matter how much I loved Elsa. And as we all know, I love that crazy platinum blonde a lot.

Hans has tried to attack Elsa once before. It culminated just as successfully as this attempt. Hans would have won both times, but Elsa had a secret weapon up her sleeve. _Her powers._ Her powers came to her rescue the last time she was in danger, creating a blizzard in an otherwise mundane cafeteria. And her powers came to her rescue this time. Nothing could ever stop Elsa as long as she had her powers. Not even me. They made her Freddy Krueger with a blonde braid. Effectively, we were in _Elsa's_ world now.

Like a villain out of a slasher movie, Elsa pursued her prey with murderous intent. Hans was running, screaming his lungs out, praying for safety to nothing in particular. I could hear his screams even though he was nearly at the end of the corridor. He was screaming out to anyone who happened to be listening, begging for something to appear out of thin air to protect him. Nothing did. If fate was overhearing this situation, it wasn't concerned for the safely of Hans. Fate has left Hans to his own devices.

If I didn't hate Hans so much, I almost would have felt sorry for him. _Almost._ You reap what you sow, and all that shit. I'm not the brightest light bulb in the world, but I was sure of this; Elsa was about to kill Hans. And that she was going to enjoy it, more than likely. Probably a lot. Killing Hans was probably going to the happiest moment in Elsa's life. As the only girlfriend Elsa has ever had, plus the girl who took her virginity, I couldn't help but feel absolute dread thinking about that idea. That _this_ was the highlight of her life. Not anything the two of us have shared together, no. _Revenge,_ was the greatest bliss of her life. What a miserable notion if there ever was one.

Hans kept running as fast he could, begging desperately to get away from his serene attacker, but a pillar of ice rose from the ground, tripping him. It was yet another ice formation conjured up by Elsa, this time used offensively. He went flying, face-forward into the ground with an audible _wack._ He tried to get back up but the fall had clearly knocked the wind out of him. His long, crooked nose was now broken, dripping blood down into his mouth. His eyes glazed in horror, he looked back behind him.

It was Elsa. Marching like the fifth horsemen of the apocalypse, down that corridor. Hans was understandably more terrified than any person could ever normally feel, but his nightmare had only just begun. "Oh fuck," he whined. He clutched at his broken nose, since blood was pouring down over his hand and onto his clothing. "_Please!_ Please god I surrender! _Please stop!_"

Elsa didn't budge. Her melodic, precise walk continued. I was certain nothing could actually stop her. Not even herself, at this point. She was lost in the moment, adrift in her own anger. She wasn't in her regular mind right now, she was absolutely insane. But I knew that a faint fragment of _my_ Elsa must have still been somewhere inside, trying to break free again.

Hans was still on the ground. He did indeed take a crossbow with him, but it was now discarded on the ground beyond his reach. He didn't even attempt to retrieve it because he knew how utterly useless it would be against a force like Elsa. He was too smart to make the same mistake twice. Firing arrows at her only served to make her even more angry.

He was now desperate. He was out of ideas. He was begging, pleading, spilling his guts, _anything_ that would make this stop. It was all he could do. He wasn't playing fair.

"Elsa please I surrender! _I give up!_ Don't prove yourself as the monster they think you are!"

Elsa was now a few feet away from striking distance when Hans managed to make her stop. _"Don't prove yourself as the monster they think you are!"_ These simple words stopped her dead in her tracks. She was staring at her hands. They were drenched morbidly in blood. In that split second, my Elsa returned. The destructive rage evaporated and she was back to normal, momentarily. Elsa overlooked the mayhem in that hall, tying to contemplate what she had done. Hans was a quivering mess on the ground, with his broken nose bleeding all over the place. He was crying, sobbing from fear, muttering to himself, and deranged.

Elsa reduced him into a whimpering mess. The once proud, confident bully was now on the ground, crying and fearing for his life, begging to be left alone. To Elsa, that was enough. Elsa has won. _Checkmate, bitch. _

"What... _what have I done..._" Elsa was now fully aware of her surroundings again. She was no longer approaching Hans, attempting to intimidate him. The adrenaline rushed out of her body as quickly as it had risen and she was now trying to understand the significance of her actions. She snapped back to her normal self. She was _my_ Elsa once more. Whatever insanity possessed her before was now gone, leaving her as she regularly was. _She was back, finally. _My Elsa was back.

It was in this rare instance of weakness when Kristoff appeared out of a stairwell, positioned just briefly behind where Elsa was standing.

_It was a trap._

Kristoff launched an arrow point-blank at Elsa's torso, and it ripped through her stomach, knocking Elsa off her balance and shoving her against the wall with great momentum. Her entire fragile body struck the wall furiously, her limbs flailing around violently. She plummeted to the floor, and hit the ground with a thundering bang. She screamed a blood-curdling noise, writhing in pain on the ground. She grabbed at the open wound, feeling the arrow penetrating through her flesh. I don't know if you've ever been stabbed, but there's a moment, most of the time brief, when you can feel the weapon _inside of you._ It's an unbearably, unfathomably painful thing, and Elsa was now feeling it; the sensation formed in her stomach permanently. Since the arrow was still inside her, the sensation never went away.

Elsa's murderous rage was back again. Whatever pain she was feeling, it didn't manage to slow her down at all. Kristoff panicked and fumbled while reloading the crossbow. Almost immediately, in retaliation, Elsa launched a hurricane of spikes at Kristoff. The blonde boy must have had great reflexes, because he managed to evade and avoid every last blade of ice aimed against him.

Most of them, anyway. One struck. One was all that was needed. Stabbing into the side of his chest, it lifted him off of his feet, impaling him against a wall. His crossbow went flying, crashing into the ground, smashing into pieces. While Kristoff wasn't quite dead yet, the massive, immediate loss of blood had driven him unconscious. He drifted off into oblivion, leaving Hans all alone. Hans was truly all alone now, as fucked as any person could ever be.

But there's one thing Hans has never done. _Give up._

While Elsa was distracted with dealing with Kristoff, Hans picked up his crossbow.

Another arrow flew past Elsa's head but it missed her by a mile. She turned, to see Hans panicking, now attempting to reload _his_ crossbow. He had taken the opening to pick up his crossbow while Elsa's attention was directed elsewhere. It was such a Hans moment. His friend is getting gored and he used the opportunity to pick his weapon back up. Even _after_ he had already surrendered. And of course, like the useless idiot he is, he misses Elsa with the only arrow that ever had a hope of hitting her.

He was an opportunist. Always ready to take an easy win when he could. He died the way he lived.

Elsa was at her breaking. She had enough. _This ended now. _She was sick and tired of people trying to kill her, and it was to end this very second.

Hans was screaming, hurrying while trying to reload his crossbow. He was the only one who didn't crack under the pressure, the only boy who kept a steady enough of a hand to successfully reload his weapon even during a high-pressure situation. Kristoff and the Weselton boys all fumbled while trying to reload. Hans was handy enough though to calmly reload his weapon, and prepare a second live round against Elsa.

It didn't matter though. When he missed her the first time, he had already signed his death sentence. It was over.

More columns of piercing ice sprouted from the ground. Hans was lifted from his feet and fastened to the wall. These shards were bigger though. The result of more aggravation than Elsa could tolerate. Hans screamed in absolute pain, shrieking in agony as the pillars pierced and reorganized his organs. He screamed as his insides were tenderized and separated by the ice. Elsa sadistically, _willingly,_ let Hans suffer this time. The other boys were executed simply. Elsa was essentially defending herself, and made quick, precise work of her prior attackers. Hans was different though. Hans however, was left to die in agony. In Elsa's broken, demented mind, Hans deserved the suffering.

Elsa was drained of power. She fell to the floor, grabbing at her own wounds. The arrow was sticking through her torso, ripping into vital organs. Both Hans and Elsa were bleeding out, twisting in pain. They both had large, sharp objects protruding into their stomachs. I'm not certain who was in more misery right now though. I would assume Hans, considering his wounds were more severe than Elsa's.

They both had very similar wounds, but they differed in one key factor. Elsa was going to live through her wounds. Hans was not. Yes, she had an arrow sticking out of her torso. It doesn't matter who you are, that's not a lovely experience. But her powers would heal her soon. Hans on the other hand, well, he was going to die. He had ice pillars sticking of out his chest, after all. Mortals don't survive from stuff like that.

I couldn't believe what Elsa had done. _What she was capable of._ She was a weapon of mass destruction unleashed on these four stupid little men. They didn't know what they were getting themselves into. Hans was the ringleader of all of this chaos. The other two nameless boys were merely his pawns. Pieces sacrificed to gain position of the board. They were probably convinced by Hans to join in on this pathetic witch-hunt. They had never even met Elsa before this day. I had very little sympathy for Hans since his involvement was willing, but the Weselton boys were merely brainwashed. Just hapless goons to the queen bee.

Fuck... I never even learned their names.

Neither of them deserved their grisly ends. Hans and Kristoff were another thing altogether.

Elsa though, suffered just as equally. I didn't pause to think about Elsa in all of this. _I mean Elsa herself. Elsa the person._ _Elsa my lover._ During a hurricane you don't stop to think about the feelings of the hurricane, you just brace yourself for the storm and think about yourself. That's because a hurricane or a blizzard doesn't have any emotions or feelings, they're merely instruments in destruction. They do as is natural to them.

_This was no blizzard though. This was my Elsa. _

But this was not yet the moment for figuring out what we were going to do next. This was the time for dealing with the last problem. _Hans._

_"Ellllll... saaaaaa," _Hans croaked.

She turned to face Hans. Even in all of his torture, Hans managed to keep the crossbow in his hand. He was a snake right down to the very last moment. He turned the crossbow to Elsa, clutching it with his one free hand. His other arm was broken.

Blood poured down his mouth and nose. He has this evil, wicked smile on his face. The blood that washed over his teeth had this sinister effect, making him look absolutely out of his mind. For the first time in this little war, _Elsa_ was afraid. She was afraid of Hans and his twisted little expression, afraid of what this lunatic was capable of. Even with everything Elsa threw back at Hans, he was still here, the final and lone survivor of his army. If Elsa hadn't already turned him into a helpless clump of broken flesh, I would have called Hans absolutely terrifying. To his dying breath he pursued Elsa, stalking her until he was physically unable to anymore. Hans hunted Elsa with an almost paranormal obsession, like he was a ghost that wasn't going to stop until he got his way.

I have to hand it to Hans. _He was dedicated._

He really was the fucking Terminator. _He just did not give up. _He could be cut in half and he'd still be crawling towards Elsa. He could be a severed head, and he'd still be trying to bite her. If he was only a severed hand he'd show up on Elsa's doorstep giving her the middle finger. As long as any part of Hans remained, it would pursue her until she ceased to breath. I think he was just as dedicated to destroying Elsa as I was to loving her.

Hans just wouldn't give up. He was still alive, although barely. That meant bad news for Elsa.

Though he was impaled by her pillars of ice, he could still talk. His voice is harsh, his words spilling out his mouth, demented and furious. Blood is splashing into his mouth, raining over his words._ "I... I hooope you choke on this, yooouuuu bitch." _He shifted his hand, pointing the armed crossbow directly at Elsa. He was going to fire it straight into her heart.

Her eyes darted straight to the crossbow, just seconds away from being fired. Elsa's eyes widened in shock. She clearly didn't think Hans could fight anymore. She didn't know how obsessed Hans could be when he wanted to destroy something.

The pillars of ice expanded. They expanded _inside_ of Hans' body. Shocked and exhausted, Elsa dealt with Hans as efficiently and as quickly as she could, in the most barbaric way conceivable. Elsa's powers reacted to her emotions, and she was an emotional wreck right now. He exploded into a mass of gore and severed skin. His final scream was buried by the sounds of popping bone and muscle. Elsa had literally popped him from inside. He stained the walls and the ground, big heaps of flesh falling to the floor.

Hans was dead now. _Finally._ His blood flooded through the hall. It was like something out of _The Shining._.. actually not even that movie had anything this gross.

It was absolutely the most sickening thing either me or Elsa have experienced in our lives. His blood rained over on Elsa, drowning her. Every inch of her body, her face, her clothing, her hair, _everything,_ was now painted and stained by what was left of Hans. Her hair was as red as mine now. Hans discarded his entire existence over Elsa, drenching her in his gore. It was almost as if Hans did this on purpose, just to spite Elsa one last time. But there was no way he could influence the trajectory of his own blood. He was dead. It took Elsa everything in her power to dispose of him, but finally, he was gone.

I heard Elsa screaming, making these disturbing, guttural cries. She grasped her own face, trying to shield her eyes with her hands, trying to escape from the realty of the situation. She was trying not to look at the disgusting sights that surrounded her. She was adrift in an ocean of blood all around her, and she couldn't escape from it no what what she did. When she was unable to free herself from these sights, she broke down, weeping intensely into her own hands. She cried as desperately and as afraid as anyone has ever been, her already fragile frame of mind breaking even more.

You know those moments in movies where something so impossibly traumatic and horrifying happens, that it shapes the entire life of the protagonist? That defining tragedy that finally breaks our hero? Like Batman with his dead parents, or Darth Vader's betrayal of the force? Well, that was happening to Elsa now. This was as much tragedy and horror as my Elsa could take.

The next time I saw Elsa she had turned the corner. She was visible again to me. I couldn't see the things she had done to Hans and Kristoff, but I could very loudly hear what was happening. I was glad I couldn't see the things for my own eyes. I would have fainted, for sure.

Elsa was positively covered in blood. It wasn't her blood, of course. Well, a little bit of it belonged to her, but the vast majority belonged to Hans. She was absolutely soaked in it, dripping with it. It looked like somebody tried to drown her in a bathtub of tomato juice. She had an arrow still embedded into her torso. She was painfully pulling it out, and somehow, she managed to pry it out of _herself_, all while walking towards me. All on her own.

_What the fuck is she._

_She... can't be human, can she? _I mean, no human could do all of _this,_ could they?

I saw it with my own eyes. Her powers froze her wounds over. A parasite couldn't allow for its host to die. It did everything it could to keep its host alive. Elsa was being propelled by her own powers now.

The Elsa I knew was dead. It was the parasite that was now controlling her.

She was walking towards me. On the way she dropped the arrow, that just a second ago was inside of her, to the ground. Stained with her own blood, the arrow dropped harmlessly to the floor. That thing could have killed most people. It could have killed bears, lions, and other wild animals.

It barely effected Elsa.

She batted the arrow away like an annoying insect. She was more powerful than my wildest imagination could have pictured. She was more powerful than I ever could have _feared_. Just an hour ago we were both panicking, fearing for our lives. We were terrified of what Hans and his battalion were going to do against us. I truly thought that they were going to take her down if they got to her. When we first turned the corner and spotted them, my heart dropped, because I knew in that moment that they had what it took to kill Elsa. How wrong I was. She swatted all four of them away like bugs on a picnic table.

My leg is now free. The ice that had attached me to the floor dissipated some time during all of this commotion. I'm not even sure when it was exactly. I'm hoping that it was a recent thing. I didn't think to move, since I was so paralyzed with fear.

Elsa was walking towards me. She's staring at me. I'm staring back. Her beautiful crystal eyes are shining in an ocean of red. The only thing that isn't drowned out by a miasma of scarlet. Even her hair is matted back in a mess of gore. _It was horrifying._ Thank god she was wearing black, because otherwise she would have looked like some kind of butcher. Now that I think about it, s_he is a butcher._

_My_ Elsa was now back. At least partly. She was back in the reigns of her own body again. I could see it in her expression. She was staring at me like the old Elsa did. She was staring at me with humanity and loneliness. The two words that most accurately described my Elsa. The look on Elsa's face was unmistakable. She's looked at me with that expression many times before. She would have that look at her most desperate and lonely moments. The times when she was close to the brink of sobbing uncontrollably. I didn't have much time to analyze my thoughts on all of this. I didn't have any time to celebrate the return of my girlfriend, or welcome back the conscious Elsa. I was too busy dealing with the outcome of this massacre.

My Elsa was back now but I didn't have time to appreciate the situation. She spoke her closing words to me, calmly and sincere. _"Goodbye Anna."_ She said these words with a smile on her face, even though I could feel the sorrow swimming in her heart. She walked past me, sulking. I couldn't move. My body was overcome with rigor mortis. I couldn't get up or chase after her. I couldn't even process the events that had just occurred. I didn't have time. Human brains don't work that fast, especially mine.

It's not every day you witness your girlfriend murder a group of people. Every minute that passed cemented this day as the worst of my life, more and more.

She walked away though, still covered in blood. She disappeared down another passageway. I couldn't fathom where she could possibly go now, especially drenched in blood. She still had her backpack slung over her shoulders but that too was drenched in blood.

She didn't say much of a goodbye. There were no sentimental last words exchanged, and no passionate kisses shared. I was shocked that she didn't hold me or tell me that everything was going to be fine. I wasn't blind, I knew full well that everything was _not_ going to be fine. But the fact that Elsa was so foregone that she wasn't even concerned with me, was the most disturbing thing of all. If Elsa didn't care about me then she truly was dead. I was her everything. She was _my_ everything. No matter how insane she's been driven by the attacks, she should still love me. She should still want to tell me that before she left. She should _still_ want to comfort me before leaving.

My Elsa was truly dead.

I looked around. Blood lined the hallway. Corpses in every direction you looked. The first boy was still impaled against the wall. Kristoff and the little bits of Hans that remained lined the next corridor. Down that elevator shaft rested another body. The crime unit assigned to this was never going to be able to figure out how many bodies there originally were, with all the little bits and pieces of Hans cluttering around. I knew I had to run out of there though, before someone spotted me among all this mess. If something was to happen to me it would mean everyone was doomed. I was the only hope anyone had to stop her now. I was the only one _left_ to stop her.

Luckily I wasn't covered in any blood at all. Among all this chaos, Elsa made sure I was not effected by any of it. Even during her uncontrollable rage, she made sure that nothing hurt me. It was a vague reference that maybe, the real Elsa was still in control.

I did the only thing I could. I did the only thing I wanted to. I ran. I ran to the only place I logically could. _Upstairs._ To our hotel room. Elsa trusted me with the key, so I still had it with me. I needed to get to that hotel room as fast as possible.

Why? Because I needed to check the television. I needed to check the news. Because wherever Elsa was, she was now uncontrollable. The storm must have increased ten fold. The hinges that once kept Elsa at bay were now gone. Being cornered and shot with arrows had broken Elsa, turning her into some kind of... _monster. _She was now unstoppable.

Wherever Elsa was now, it would be on the news. Elsa _was_ the news. This time I didn't need to track down Elsa. Everybody was going to know where she was. We've reached the end of Elsa's patience. She's had enough with us humans. It was time she put her boot down and got rid of us once and for all.

The end is nigh.

Through all this madness, I forget one important detail. That, you know, the world was still ending outside. The apocalyptic blizzard that Elsa accidentally ushered in, the very same one that was threatening to end the entire world. Elsa and I were momentarily distracted by the skirmish going on in the hallway. It made me forget that before, we had bigger fish to fry._ The blizzard._ The blizzard that was going to end the entire world. The very same storm that Hans was actually trying to prevent.

While Hans was absolutely out of his fucking mind, just as much as Elsa, his intent was technically benevolent. He wanted to protect me and stop this storm, and also save the world. He was just not powerful enough to do so. Now with him and his squad dispatched with, nothing could stop Elsa anymore. Nothing could stop Elsa, and more importantly, nothing could stop this storm. And now, it was raging harder than it ever has before. Hans only served to make everything even worse.

When Elsa took care of Hans, I thought the massacre was _finally_ over. I was wrong. The massacre has just begun. The world was about to end. I thought it was scheduled to end tomorrow. Once more, I was mistaken. Actually, it ends today. It ends _now. _

I had to stop it.

I... I had to stop Elsa.

But... _how?_

The _world._ _Elsa_. I couldn't save both. I don't even think I could save either.

We all know that I'm good at pulling things out of my ass during high-pressure situations, but how was I, the innocent little redhead from English class, going to stop the most powerful force on Earth? And most importantly, how was I going to do all this by myself? I couldn't even stop a few incompetent dolts with crossbows, how was I going to stop the thing that stopped _them_? The same force that dispatched the entire death squad like they were porcelain dolls?

I've gotten myself out of some pretty shitty situations before, but I've always had either Elsa to motivate me, or personally help me get through them. Now I was actively fighting against her. I was fighting against a force I had no chance of defeating. I was fighting against the love of my life.

I have to save the world. At all costs, I have to save Elsa, too. Between Elsa and I, one of us is not going to live to see tomorrow.


	20. A date with Elsa

I'm running through the seemingly endless corridors of this hotel. I can't help but despise this wretched place.

I've been here way too long. It feels like I've been trapped in here forever. It was becoming more like the Overlook Hotel with every passing moment. The walls are closing in all around me.

When I first saw these hallways, I thought they looked really eerie and foreboding. They gave off this vibe like something bad was going to happen. Now they look downright terrifying. These corridors seem never-ending, like they stretch on for eternity. I'm sprinting as fast as I possibly can, and yet the halls never seem to end. I've done so much goddamn running today. It feels like I've run fully across the face of the entire world. No one, not even an Olympic marathon runner, should have to run this much in one single day, under any circumstances. My body has been beaten and abused in every way imaginable, and the day was still far from over.

My body is aching. My heart is convulsing in agony, beating faster than it ever has. My legs feel like they're shattered. My head is pounding like the sirens of Hell. As I am running through this corridor, it feels like I'm having a panic attack. After all I've been through today, I deserve one. But I can't rest, I can't break down. The world is counting on me and my mission to succeed.

The infinite span of these awful, grotesque corridors are finally winding down. I've finally arrived at my destination. I'm glad that there are no mirrors in this place; maybe it was owned by vampires or something. I'm pleased over the absence of mirrors, because I must look absolutely _fucking terrible._ My make-up is smeared from crying, I'm sweating bullets, and my outfit, simple winter apparel, is a tattered mess. My bangs are slicked back with perspiration and my skin is sickly and pale.

I looked like... _I looked just like Elsa._ Pale, sickly, and ghost-like. I was starting to resemble her more with every event of this day. With every subsequent moment, I looked more like a corpse than I did the moment before. Not that Elsa wasn't beautiful, but she did look kinda like a corpse, after all. Never going outside will do that to you.

But finally, I am where I want to be. No one has spotted me. I haven't heard any screams yet, so I'm assuming no one has yet found the remains of the massacre downstairs. Not that it mattered anymore, but for now, there was still peace in this damn hotel. There won't be peace for long. There won't be peace anywhere, soon. The world is ending. It's ending tonight. It's ending _now._

I know I say this a lot, but truly, the world is ending all around me. This might be the last day this planet sees. I can hear the screaming of the wind outside from the safety of the hotel hallway. It's never been that loud before. It sounded like an explosion of thunder. It was merely snow, and yet it sounded like bricks falling from the sky. The wind is rattling the entire hotel. It's a subtle, but undeniable sensation. The wind is shaking the very foundation of this hotel, threatening to rip it from its roots, and toss it on its side. Elsa's emotional state has reached its fever pitch, and so the storm has never yet been this powerful. I didn't have long before it escalated even further, so I had to hurry.

I fished the keys out of my pocket, and unlocked the hotel room. It was just as the two of us left it. It was an eerie reminder of how simple life was just an hour ago. Before everything went from bad to worse in a heartbeat. Locking the door behind me, I can still hear the sounds of the blowing wind. It's even louder now. Elsa is screaming at me, stalking me no matter where I ventured off to. I couldn't escape from Elsa. As long as I was still on this planet, Elsa would follow me anywhere I went. She was a mile away and yet right behind me, breathing down my neck. She was pointing a loaded gun to the back of my head. She was about to pull the trigger.

None of this would have happened if it wasn't for Hans. True, the blizzard was still threatening to bury the whole world in its towering immensity, but because of Hans and his actions, the apocalyptic countdown was sped up. Before, we had a few days before the blizzard brought a catastrophe, maybe a few weeks. Now, we had a few hours. We have only a few mere hours before Arendelle was a forgotten memory, buried in an ocean of white. We have just a few hours until the whole planet was consumed by Elsa's fury. Hans has always been a bit of a jackass, but like, speeding up armageddon, well, that was the shittiest thing he's ever done to me. Thanks for nothing, dude.

My mind has been transfixed on Elsa for a while now, but I couldn't help but think about Hans. _Ugh, Hans._ My ex. The first and only guy I've ever officially dated. _No, Kristoff did not count._ Hans and I certainly had our fair share of disagreements. The two of us had a long series of fights and quarrels, and in general, the two of us were prone to drama. He brought drama everywhere he went. But even when I absolutely loathed everything about him, I never wanted him _dead._

Hans was dead now. It's hard for me to accept that. It still hasn't sunk in completely. You're prepared your entire life to deal with the concept of death, but you never truly grip the full extent of its power. That one moment, someone is alive, and then the next, they're _not._ Him and Kristoff were dead. At least I _think_ Kristoff is dead. I know for a fact that Hans was dead. I saw his eye-ball on the ground earlier. Yeah, he was dead. He literally exploded. It doesn't get deader than Hans. He was as dead as anyone could ever be.

I've hated Hans for so long, that when he finally bit the bullet, it left me numb. The entire massacre has left me numb. I was used to feeling numb from the cold, but this was a _different_ sense of numbness. This was worse. When you're usually numb, you have the hope of feeling warmth again. This feeling was irreversible. This kind of numb was never going away. This form of numb was eternal, like the endless winter falling outside. I was shivering, because the temperate in my room has gone down considerably. God, it's already started. I'm positively freezing and it's only been ten minutes since I last saw Elsa. If the storm doesn't cause the extinction of the human race, then it's going to be the cold. She had a multitude of ways to wipe us out.

For the last moment, my mind lingered on Hans. It was the last time I ever thought about him. I hope wherever he is, that he is okay. I know that he wasn't a religious person. I'm not religious either. I believe in the concept of an afterlife only when it seems to be convenient for me. But still, I hope Hans is resting now. _I'll miss that sick fuck._ I still can't even begin to conceive what happened to him, what drove him to such an unstable place. I have no idea why he was so deranged and obsessed with killing Elsa. He's always been a bit of an asshole, as we all know, but this was absurd behavior even for him. Something really got into him to drive him to that level of extreme. He rallied up a platoon of men with crossbows, hunting down my girlfriend. That was fucking insane even for him.

But he was dead, a series of stains on a hotel carpet. He was gone forever. There's no way of knowing now. I'd really like to ask him if I still could. I'll never know now, why exactly he did what he did. Perhaps my relationship with Elsa made him too bitter; maybe the entire thing was due to jealousy. Maybe a series of uninformed misconceptions drove him to thinking that Elsa was more dangerous than she really was, and made him critical about killing her. Maybe his demented, foolish mind was made too paranoid by the storm, and made him think that desperate measures were necessary. Maybe, he thought that he was a holy knight on a sacred crusade, and that slaughtering Elsa made him a hero, saving the world. Perhaps he saw himself as the hero, conquering the evil witch and saving everyone from her curse.

Or maybe... he was just a rotten, jealous, bitter fucking asshole who wanted to eradicate something beautiful.

Truth be told, I have no Earthly way of knowing why Hans went so fucking bat-shit crazy. There are a variety of explanations. No lone reason existed. Crazy people have a long list of reasons why they do the things that they do. That whole ordeal was in the past though. There's no going back. The only destination for me is forward now. The past is in the past.

Hans was notable to me because even though he was insane, he was, in some obscure way, trying to help me. He was trying to help me stop this damn blizzard. There's no one left to assist me anymore. Every other person in my life has either abandoned me, or were dead. None of my friends remained. What was I going to do, go to the authorities? No one was going to believe me anyway. My story sounded like the ravings of a lunatic: _oh, hey, so my girlfriend has these magical powers and she's the sole cause of all of this freak weather. Oh, and she also murdered four boys with her powers. _Yeah, they'd lock me up in an insane asylum and charge me with the demise of all four boys.

No one was going to help me, or even believe me at this point. My story was too fantastical to be believed, and too twisted to be sympathized with. I was all alone. I'm more alone than anyone has ever been. I'm more alone now than Elsa has ever been.

My relationship with Elsa has left me prepared for just about anything. But nothing in this world could have prepared me for _this._ Nothing could have readied me for the growing storm beckoning over the horizon. There wasn't much time to act so I needed to hurry. I flicked on the television, fumbling frantically with the remote. My instincts were right about there being a news report about Elsa. She was the day's main story. She was the _only_ story. Any sense of pride I had over seeing Elsa on television was obliterated by the fact that she was public enemy number one, the most feared person in the world right now. She was Ted Bundy and Charles Manson multiplied by a million.

I rested on the bed, conquered by the day. It honestly feels like this day will never end. Next to me on the bed, was a blouse. A black one. There were green jewels on the collar. Obviously, since it was black, it belonged to Elsa. It was among the ones she was most fond of. When we left the room with so much haste she must have forgotten it. I inspected the room, and found that it was scattered with things that once belonged to Elsa. Her favorite scarf rested on the other bed. On the floor were a pair of her gloves. Her black, lacy gloves. She _always_ wore gloves. I thought she had a thing against germs, or something. Now I know the truth. She wore them to avoid me learning about her powers. She wore them to hide me from her cold. She wore them to avoid me knowing about the _real_ Elsa.

Actually, I previously noticed that she would always wear gloves. But of course, the value in that realization is way too late. It arrived way too late to change anything now. If I was more observant, I might have been able to notice that a long time ago, and figured out her powers when they still could have been stopped. If I wasn't so damn oblivious, I could have prevented all of this. This entire disaster was because of my doing. If the world really ends tonight, it's just as much my fault as the blonde girl actually causing the storm. We were both guilty. We were partners in crime. I was the Bonnie to her Clyde.

Before, I thought I knew Elsa inside and out. I thought I knew ever facet of her existence. I thought I knew every last detail there was to know about her. I took pride in that notion. Then she went and smeared Hans' blood against the wall like a whore's mascara. It turns out, I really didn't know anything about her at all. I haven't even seen the tip of the iceberg, in regards to who Elsa really was.

While I watched the television report on the storm, I reminisced about the person Elsa used to be. God, I miss that Elsa so much, _it hurts._ Loving Elsa has always been a painful ordeal. But this was the first time I didn't think I could conquer the pain. This was the first time when the future looked totally bleak and hopeless. This is my darkest hour. _This_ was the only moment during the whole adventure when I couldn't see a way to overcome the hardships in front of me. But still, I couldn't give up, no matter what.

It's so cold. I'm freezing, shivering intensely. I'm whimpering, rubbing my own hands, desperately trying to warm myself. It's not working. I can barely even move anymore. The furious cold has zapped my body of all of its remaining energy. Even though I'm indoors, I'm certain that it is bellow zero. A coat of ice is forming on the hotel room window, blocking out any way to observe the chaos unfolding outside. I didn't have long before Elsa would devour the entire world with her powers.

I looked at that black blouse with the green jewels on the collar. It haunted me. It reminded me of a very fond memory, contrasting with the nightmare forming all around me now.

I couldn't bear the present anymore. Plagued by dread, and without anywhere to go and nothing to help me, I retreated briefly into my own memories. It was the only comforting place I had left.

I thought about the happiest day of my life. The past was the only thing Elsa could never take away from me.

* * *

We're at Elsa's house. Well, it was _our_ house, really. I've moved in with her. Not officially, no. I was very sneaky about moving in. How I did I do it? Well, I moved all of my shit to Elsa's house, and I stopped going to my old one. It wasn't the most intricate plan, but it worked, so whatever. For all intensive purposes, we were living together now.

We had been dating for only about two months now. We'd been a couple ever since that hot sweaty night where we both rolled all over the place and broke a lamp. You know, that night that started with me going to that stupid party with Kristoff. Somehow, the night salvaged itself and ended up being the happiest yet of my life. Things had never been going better. Every day I woke up next to Elsa, which wasn't something new since we'd been sleeping together ever since we were friends. Waking up next to a beautiful person, well, that was the best way to wake up. Fuck Folgers; the best way to start a day was to start it together with someone you loved.

I was reading the newspaper. Yeah, I was one of those people who still did that. Elsa was old-fashioned, so she always made sure to subscribe to it. I would read it every morning at the kitchen table. There was an ad that caught my attention. The circus was coming to Arendelle. It came to town for some obscure reason once a year. I'm not certain why, because the circus seemed like one of those things that no one ever really seemed to like, at least in Arendelle. It seemed more like a chore than a legitimately enjoyable evening out. But it was something interesting to do. Naturally, I wanted to drag Elsa along with me, even though she would just want to stay at home and watch movies instead.

Elsa was already dressed for the day. I was still wearing my nightgown. Satin and long-flowing, it was the kind of number that girls my age didn't wear any more. But it was comfy, so I was really fond of it. Elsa's sense of vintage fashion was rubbing off on me. Every facet of her personality was now actively leaking into my own.

Elsa was wearing, you guessed it, black. She was wearing this lovely black dress with wonderful lace embroidery all along it. Underneath it, she had on black leggings. Fishnets, to be exact. God, Elsa was hot in fishnets. I mean, she was always hot, but in _fishnets?_ Have fucking mercy on me, Elsa. Even her dress was amazing and seductive. She was showing virtually no skin, and yet she made it alluring just with her incredibly curvy figure. It was one of those dresses that was so tight, that it meant the person wearing it could only wear really scanty underwear, if any at all... but, uh, enough about what Elsa was wearing. It was awesome, let's leave it at that.

We were enjoying a peaceful breakfast together, in the middle of a very bizarre conversation. During this conversation, I'm sneaking longing glimpses over at Elsa, soaking up a fragment of her beauty. Even without make-up, first thing in the morning, Elsa was absolutely beautiful. She glowed like there was a light-bulb behind her.

"Anything interesting today in the paper, Anna?"

"No, not particularly," I lied. I'm playing coy. I want to bring up the circus as gently as I could. Sometimes sneaking it into the conversation worked best with her.

"You like Nine Inch Nails, right, hun?"

"The band? Yeah, uh, they're pretty cool." Truth be told, I've never listened to any of their albums before. From what I overheard from when Elsa was listening to them, their music is abrasive, moody, and atmospheric. I'm assuming Elsa loved them. Their music was just like her.

"Do you know why they're called _Nine Inch Nails?_"

"I have no idea why Elsa, truly I don't."

"Well, you know the frontman of the band, Trent Reznor, right? Well, anyway, the name stems from when he was in college. See, he would have sex with these girls, right, and when he would have sex with them,_ it hurt them._ Like, it physically caused pain to the girls he would have sex with. It actually hurt them. Why? Well because you see, his penis was nine inches long. It was really damn long. So when he would have sex with these girls, it fucking hurt them. It hurt them like they were being fucked by nine inch nails. Hence, the name, _nine inch nails._"

"I... wait what. Is that actually true?"

"Nah, Anna. I'm just fucking with you." Elsa gives me this playful smile, while she sips from her coffee mug. She had a surprisingly active sense of humor for someone usually so grim. Even if her sense of humor was twisted and surreal, and honestly, I rarely even understood half her jokes. I would only laugh to encourage her. She continued. "The name actually comes from the nails used to crucify Jesus, or something freaky like that. I just like my penis version of the story better."

I have no idea how to respond to her. I don't think there even is a valid response to an anecdote like that. She would always launch into bizarre non-sequiturs in the middle of conversations. I decided to take the opportunity to lay down the foundation of my plan. "Hey Elsa?"

"Mmhmmh hun?"

"So the circus is like, coming to town this weekend. And I know there's probably like, some kind of movie marathon of some obscure horror series of films I've never heard of, but I thought it would be pretty cool if maybe we went together. You know, like a date?"

Elsa was forever stoic. Forever an unsolvable enigma. If there was something on her mind, you needed to ask her to figure it out. Her poker face revealed nothing. _"Sure," _she purrs. "That would be lovely, actually."

_"Sure? _As in you want to go, sure, that kind of sure?" She must be sick or something. She always puts up a fight when I want to, you know, actually do something fun for once. This is extremely out of character for my Elsa.

"I love the circus," she assures me. Elsa smiles her shy little smile. The one where you can see the dimples in her cheeks. You never get to see those dimples otherwise. They're beautiful. An imperfection wasn't an imperfection when it was on Elsa. I didn't bother asking her why she liked the circus. I figured it really didn't matter as long as she was willing to come with me. Sometimes you don't ask questions. Sometimes you receive answers you don't like.

But we were going. That's all that matters. I had to get ready for our date together. I knew there was no way I could possibly look as good as Elsa, but nevertheless I had to strive to look my best. She decided to change out of that tight black dress she was wearing during breakfast, which was good for my sake, because at least now I stood a _slight_ chance of looking at least _half as good_ as she was going to. Er, maybe more like a_ third_ as good.

We both dress casually. It's a pretty warm night. You can guess what kind of clothing Elsa was wearing. She picked out her favorite shade of black. I was wearing just a simple kind of outfit. Jeans and a blouse. I was never going to look as good as Elsa, so I figured I might as well be comfortable. I didn't want to wear a dress because I figured we were going to be on a lot of rides. Maybe if I'm lucky Elsa will come on the roller coaster with me. Winning the lottery seemed more likely though. I had a better chance of being struck with multiple bolts of lightning.

Elsa was wearing this lovely black blouse with green jewels on the collar.

It wasn't all that eventful actually. Overall, it was a rather mundane night. Well, it was notable for one reason.

It was absolutely crowded, and I suppose that explained the economy of the circus. Whether or not if people actually liked the circus, if it was coming to town, you could be assured that everybody was going to be there one way or another. I mean, we were there. I didn't make plans with any of my other friends. I wanted to spend the entire evening with Elsa. With so much drama going around, it was a nice little romantic gesture. The two of us didn't share many dates together. I cherished the few lovely evenings out I had with her.

We were walking around. Elsa was having a wonderful time, to my surprise. Her eyes really lit up at the sights and sounds of the circus. The overpriced food, overly loud rides, the lines, the waiting... it was music to Elsa's ears. We went on every ride that didn't have a wait time of over an hour. There weren't many. The circus is such a bizarre place. Every inch around you was littered with lights, people, and excitement. Being around so much utter joy couldn't help but brighten your own mood. Even Elsa was buzzing with enthusiasm.

Elsa won me a stuffed teddy bear by throwing a ball, and hitting over some bottles. She had an incredible aim. Such amazing precision for someone who has probably never played a sport in her life. She hit every target on her first attempt, her aura brimming with confidence for once. "I'd like that big bear please, as my prize."

"Sure thing missy," boasts the carny, taking the bear down from the rack. He was a really nice guy. "Is this for a special someone in your life?" I am standing right next to Elsa. If she snubs me, I think I might die.

"Yes. It's for my date right here." _Oh my god she just called me her date in front of this guy. She's handing me this bear right in front of a complete stranger._

The guy smiled. We went on with our night. These carny folk are surprisingly progressive about equal rights, I suppose. That, or he just liked lesbians.

I was clutching this gigantic bear with me for the entirety of the night. While it was irritating, I would have held onto that thing even if we were on a sinking ship together. I held onto that damn bear for dear life. Someone would have to pry it from me over my cold dead body, if they wanted to have that bear. That bear was mine forever.

The rest of the night was absolutely wonderful. Throughout the whole thing, I'm spazzing out internally. I keep thinking the same thought, over and over._ I'm on a date with Elsa. _This thought repeated in my mind without end. It wasn't easy for two closeted girls to have a "date," per se, but we were still having an incredibly amazing night together. It was the closest thing to a date the two of us had yet shared together.

It was weird, though. Elsa wasn't closeted at all. If someone asked her in public about her relationship status, she was perfectly honest. It's just that, no one ever asked her. She didn't have any friends. On the rare chance it was asked though, Elsa never lied about it. Ever.

I flashed back to that time with us and Kristoff on the running path. When I lied about our relationship right in front of her. I described her as my _best friend_. I still felt pathetic over that. Elsa never made a fuss over it after that day, but it never stopped nagging at me. I wanted to be open so badly. I wanted to scream my love for Elsa for all to hear. I wanted to tattoo her name on the back of my shoulder. I wanted everybody I knew to understood how much Elsa meant to me.

She was my world. She was my everything. The two of us are out on this date together, having the time of our lives. I could die tomorrow without any regrets, because I had the privilege to know Elsa. Knowing and having the opportunity to love Elsa made me the luckiest person in the world. Even getting to meet her was an honor beyond words, but to love her? And to have her _love me back? _I was the most blessed person to ever live.

We're walking now through the lines of people and attractions. Not really doing anything in particular, just looking at everything. I looked all around me. So many couples holding hands, kissing, flirting and showing open affection. Hundreds of people all around us free to share their love for each other to the world, and me and Elsa couldn't even hold hands. We had to conceal everything. _Not feel._

I wanted to feel. I wanted to feel more than anything. I wanted to feel Elsa.

Elsa thought I was ashamed of her. No, she never vocalized it, but I could tell she really did feel that way. She felt like I was afraid of consummating my love for her. It was hard for me though. I don't know why, but it was hard. It wasn't fair. Couples were able to hold hands and kiss in public and no one ever made a deal about it. Sure they couldn't strip naked and start fucking in the line for the merry-go-round, but they were allowed to be open in some basic manner. It wasn't fair.

It haunted me. _Ashamed of her?_ She was the only thing I'm proud of. I was ashamed of my relationship with Hans. I was ashamed of how I stood back and let Elsa get bullied when I first met. I was ashamed of not helping her when she needed me most. Those were the things I was ashamed of. Those were the things I was humiliated by, mortified over. Those were the skeletons residing in my closet that I wanted to escape from. Those were the mistakes that would torment me forever, the flaws in my past that I could never correct.

But my love for Elsa? My love for her made me who I was. Even if she was to leave me tomorrow, just the fact that I shared even a moment with Elsa as her lover was worth everything. We have shared these moments together and in my mind, those moments would stay with me forever. I was going to love Elsa right until the bitter end. I was going to love Elsa until the day that I died.

I looked at Elsa. She was walking a bit faster than me, eating some cotton candy. It was weird for her to be eating junk food. But she was having such a wonderful night she even let her diet slip a bit for the sake of fun. She was looking in every direction, inspecting all of these bright lights and strange sounds, absorbing the sights. She was fascinated by them. She adored them. She behaved like a toddler again, consumed by the joy that manifested all around us. I had never seen Elsa in such a fabulous, joyous mood. She was usually so murky and gloomy, yes, but not even Elsa could be sour at the circus. She walked like there was a skip in her step.

But she was walking alone.

I sped up my pace a bit. Elsa looked at me smiling, though with uncertainty in her expression. I grabbed her. The synapses in my body were attempting to hold me back, but I embraced her. I held her tight, right in public. I didn't care who saw. I didn't care about any weird looks we were getting. I didn't even care about the confused expression Elsa was making or the blush she was breaking out into. All I wanted in that moment was to hold my girlfriend in public and not be ashamed of it. I wanted to have the same thing that any regular person could have, and I didn't want to feel guilty over it. I just wanted to love Elsa like she deserved.

"Anna... people... are staring."

"_I don't care._ Let them look." Elsa is embracing me back, but her face is deep red. She is visibly embarrassed, but she's supporting my bravery.

I let go of her a moment later. She was smiling. Embarrassed, but smiling. She was positively glowing. My simple, little gesture had made that night the highlight of her entire life. She deserved it for putting up with me for all these months. God, I was such a miserable fuck-up, and I had been fucking things up for us for such a long time. It felt good to have done something right for once.

I showed the entire world that we were a couple. I disobeyed my own fear. I embraced Elsa as passionately as I could, and I didn't give one shit what anyone else thought. I told the world around us that Elsa was mine, now and forever. I made Elsa, for once in her life, actually feel like a normal, average person. She smiled at me while we were walking. She smiled at me like she couldn't thank me enough. It was such a minuscule, nothing of a gesture, but it was all I could do. Elsa appreciated the hell out of it, anyway. I only had one lifetime to love Elsa. I wanted to make every moment matter.

The rest of the night took on a somber note. She was happier now but the mood had shifted into the melancholy. Her attitude had changed considerably. We were both really tired from the night and decided to head home. Elsa devoured so much junk food her pale skin was starting to turn green. We were exhausted. On the walk home though, Elsa was brimming with joy. I was still holding this bear even though my arms were at the early stages of falling off.

When we got home Elsa and I made love. It was different. Not lustful in the way we had been used to. It was solemn, much like the night. We were not _fucking each other,_ like some people call it. We were making _love_, actual _love_. We were _in love_, feeling _love_. In its most pure, honest form, this was _love._ Sex had never been so meaningful and amazing. It was actively an emotional experience. By the end of it, I was crying.

I know that sounds corny, but in that moment we were together for the first time. Every simple little gesture I made to recognize our relationship publicly was a big deal to Elsa. She knew it was hard for me.

She looked amazing in that black blouse with the green jewels. The collar was down though, stripped to the side. We tossed that blouse to the ground. I love clothing, but it always gets in the way when things get important. Maybe that's why the concept of lingerie was always lost on me. Elsa was enamored by fine lingerie, but to me, I always just wanted to rip it off.

Pressed against each other, I felt her breathing chest against my own. It was the new greatest night of my life.

It wasn't just sex. It was making love. She wasn't fucking me, like Trent Reznor and his alleged nine inch penis. She was making passionate, sincere love to me. The combination of our elegant night out at the circus, and our love making was unconquerable. Every single aspect of this night was perfect. There wasn't a single sour moment. I'll never forget this bear, and I'll never forget that black blouse with the jewels that Elsa had been wearing the whole night. She had never looked prettier before, not even naked.

When we were done I asked Elsa why she wanted to go to the circus so badly. It was something I should have asked long before. I was baffled as to why the usually brooding Elsa actually wanted to go out and have fun for once. I was pleasantly surprised, so I just went along with it all. Sometimes it's better not to ask. But, this was now as good of a time as any.

"Elsa, um..."

"Am I pressing in too deeply?"

"No, uh, this isn't about that at all. _That_ is lovely, please continue. I just wanted to ask something."

"The floor is all yours, Anna." Quite literally. We were on the floor. We had carpeting so it wasn't so bad. The _floor_ had carpeting, that is.

"Not to ruin the moment or anything, but uh, we both know you're not exactly the most cheery person. I was surprised why you were so eager to come with me to the circus and all."

She turns to face me. It's not easy considering her prior position, but she does it anyway for dramatic effect. "I've never been to the circus before. I liked the idea, because it meant the two of us could do something together, for the first time."

I... what a beautiful answer to such a stupid question. It made my heart melt even more._ I love you, Elsa. _It hurts, it literally hurts, loving you as much as I do. It shouldn't be legal to love someone so passionately, so desperately, so _fully._ Everything else in life was was just a chore compared to being with Elsa. I never wanted to leave her side. I was planning to stay with her always. That night together was the happiest of my life. I think it was the happiest night of Elsa's life, too. I've never seen her smile so intensely. It was during that night I planned out entire lives together. I would do anything to live in that day again, to live those 24 hours again and again like in _Groundhog Day_, repeating the same perfect night together for eternity. I would do anything just to spend another peaceful moment with my Elsa again.

Love is an inherently irrational thing. You don't need love, and it's not a necessity. You won't die without it. Love is a privilege. It's a luxury. To love someone is to open your heart to them in the most humbling, open way and to ask for acceptance and for their love back. It's selfish to expect someone to love you. To not get their love in return is the most painful thing you can feel. But to have your love reciprocated, is the greatest and most potent sensation in the world. You can feel that kind of love lingering in your own heart. It gives you goosebumps. And Elsa's love was the most sincere and rare love there is. She was so alone and bitter during her life, that by having her love me, it made me unique. I might be the only person Elsa ever actually loved. It made me special. Everyone longs to be special, but I truly _was_ special, because I was the only person in the world who could say they had Elsa as their lover. I was honored to be loved by Elsa.

But, back to reality.

_The reality I was still stuck in. _The reality I now had to face. The very same realty I was no longer capable of escaping from. I was watching the news report on the storm.

* * *

_A large, er, ice palace is now growing out of the ground. I know it sounds unbelievable folks but you can see it just as plainly as we can here. We will keep you aware of any developmen-... holy... we now have confirmation that the storm of the century has been escalated to... well actually it was already off the charts, but now it seems as if things are actually going to be worse than initially presumed._

_According to this newly commissioned report from the severe weather organization, the storm might produce anywhere from... this can't be right... 10 to 20 feet of snow. You heard this correctly, folks, 10-20 feet of snow. Winds as fast as 60 miles per hour have been reported. This is wind so fast that hail can actually slice your skin._

_Do not, repeat, do not go outside for any reason. If you are not present in a secure foundation, please find one immediately. We do not have an explanation for this at this time._

_Any attempts to breach the perimeter of this mysterious ice castle have been futile. The US military had initially planned to send jets to this castle but any air flight is impossible due to the ferocity of the wind and snowfall. We haven't seen the nation under such duress since the Cuban missile crisis. Any attempts to nuke or interrupt whatever is going on in Arendelle have also been futile. This is a code red threat._

_Attempts to stop whatever is going on have been largely unsuccessful. Communication centers around the country have been jammed. Any response to this phenomena has been stalled due to the completely unprecedented nature of it._

_Currently there is no up-to-date death tally. The number of reported deaths has risen into the tens of thousands. Ambulances have been unable to hit the road. Hospitals have been reported to be out of energy across the nation. Power shortages everywhere. Human statues are literally lining the streets. There is no way to know how much further this is going to escalate. The death count might reach tens of millions by the end. There might not be an end, folks._

_We are not certain how long this broadcast will continue for. By all accounts, we are one of the very last remaining stations to remain active. There is no telling how much longer we will continue to stay on the air. The way that other stations are having technical problems, I cannot imagine it will be much longer._

_Actually, we are having issues right now. We might have to leave you folks at home any moment now. A__ny visibility of this ice castle has been lost. The snowfall has obscured any visibility with ground zero._

_Update... actually, for now folks, you are on your own. Things are worse than we possibly could have presumed. We must be going now. Best of luck._

_May God have mercy on our souls. We will need it._


	21. How the hell am I going to stop Elsa?

The report was worse than I possibly could have imagined. This was the worst-case scenario.

You know that panic attack, the same one I've been suppressing all day long? Well it was finally happening. I've been on the verge of a mental breakdown this entire day, and my body just couldn't take this stress anymore. I just heard that my girlfriend constructed a palace made out of ice, and is responsible for the deaths of thousands of people. Yeah, if _anyone,_ in the history of panic attacks, deserved to have a fucking breakdown, it was _me. _Tears are streaming from my eyes. Those tears are introducing themselves to the layer of sweat covering the surface of my face. I was a mess.

I've never had a panic attack before. I've come very close, several different times. Coincidentally, the last time was in this very room. It was just a few hours ago. I remember waking up from my little nap and finding Elsa sitting right beside me, on the opposite bed. After our brief conversation together, when I figured out that Hans was more than likely coming to kill us, that was when I experienced my first genuine _attempt_ at a panic attack. But that wasn't a panic attack. That was just a shit load of stress. It was a really rude awakening, yeah, but a panic attack it was not.

_This_ was a panic attack. I'm having difficultly breathing. It's like I'm drowning, but I'm not even immersed in water. Despite my most desperate attempts, I can't draw breath from the air. It's like the air is actually ice, and it physically cannot enter my body. I'm desperately pleading to draw a breath, but my body is betraying me. It's not listening to my commands anymore. It's like my body _wants_ me to just give up and die. To make matters even worse, my heart is beating so furiously that it feels like I'm having a heart attack. It feels like it's about to explode.

This agonizing sense of stabbing is forming in my stomach and in my chest. I'm clutching at my torso, trying to relieve the pain but nothing I can do is stopping the sensation. Am I having a heart attack? Is this what a heart attack feels like? I've never had one before, so no, I have no reference. This felt so painful it could have been, anyway.

The only sound in the room is the buzzing noise produced by the television. It drones on like a horde of hungry insects. The last station broadcasting the report on the storm just stopped. Any evidence that the world is still even going on outside this tiny hotel room, is now gone. The world might already be over, as far as I know.

I fall to the floor, still clutching my chest, trying to breathe. I'm face-down in the carpet, trying to draw air. I focus every synapse in my body, and after a while, I think I can finally control my breathing again. I'm trying to return to my regular breathing rhythm, but it's not exactly easy. It's like I'm learning to breathe again, like I've never done it before in my life. Every time I inhale, it is painful. It feels like there is anthrax in this room and every time I grasp for air, I can feel burning in my lungs. Exhaling is equally as torturous. But after a few moments, I manage to calm myself to a reasonable degree. I mean, I wasn't exactly relaxed or in a cheery mood, but I think that for a person who had a few hours left to live, I was as calm as any person in my position could possibly be.

I was so used to dealing with all of this apocalyptic drama, that I think I was actually getting good at dealing with otherwise unfathomable levels of stress. I mean, you have to figure, that by _Die Hard 5,_ stopping a terrorist high-jacking was like a walk in the park for John McClane. You deal with enough bullshit, and eventually, the bullshit stops smelling so bad. That's a disgusting metaphor, I know. But my mind isn't exactly thinking cheery thoughts right now.

The television is still buzzing in the background. It's the only sound permeating this room anymore, other than my despairing attempts to breathe. I am panting. I am panting as frantically as I ever have in my entire life. Even after working out, even after long sessions of sex, I have never been forced to pant this hard. It seems like my panic attack is over now. It might return later, but for now, I've defused the bomb long enough to live for a brief time more. I'm too weak to lift myself off the floor, so I position myself against the foot of the bed. I am still writhing on the ground, but I'm lending my weight against this bed. My breathing is returning to normal now. I've averted _that_ crisis. For now, anyway.

Ok, so now that this problem is dealt with, time for my main problem... _what the fuck am I going to do about Elsa?_

Did I hear the report right? I didn't have something bat-shit crazy in my ear, did I? Some of Hans' insanity didn't splatter onto me, did it? _An ice palace? _A fucking ice palace? What in the genuine, actual fuck, Elsa?

The alleged ice palace was at the center of the city. According to the report, it just appeared out of nowhere, right out of the ground. Obviously I knew the source of its origin, but the news had no idea what the hell was going on. They did a pretty good job of rationalizing a perfectly paranormal event. They were going to keep running, like the world intended to continue. Right until the moment it actually stopped. I have to admit, I admired their optimism in the face of uncompromising hopelessness. Elsa's about to freeze the world to kingdom come, and the local news station is treating it just like any regular disaster.

Just like the news reporter, I observed that palace though. I saw it through a layer of tears that were forming in my eyes. I stared, transfixed at that ice palace, my eyes glazed open in horror at it. Yeah, it was a fucking castle, made out of ice. It wasn't beyond Elsa's powers to conjure one up. I've seen her do some pretty amazing stuff before. She stopped a car dead in its tracks with just a flex of her wrist. She stopped four fully grown men with crossbows like it was nothing, and most notably, she was ushering in the damn apocalypse outside, right this very moment. It seemed like there was nothing Elsa _couldn't_ do. Anything Elsa wanted, she could make happen, like it was nothing at all. She pulled miracles out of her ass so damn often that I forgot, that in essence, she was a human being just like me.

She is a human, at least I think. I have no idea anymore. She looked, talked, and even behaved, exactly like any regular person. Sure, she was awkward, weird, and socially distant, but just because a person had some social issues, didn't mean they weren't a human being. She was odd, yeah. Can you name a single interesting person who isn't a little weird? If she isn't human, then I have no fucking idea what she really is.

At this point, it doesn't matter what she is. It didn't matter if the mothership dropped her off from Uranus, or some other ridiculous explanation like that. It was irrelevant to the real problem at hand. I used to care about learning the source of her powers. Now I was only interested in finding out how to stop them.

Back to the castle though. You know what that damn ice palace signified? It meant that Elsa didn't care anymore. No longer did she did care about concealing her powers. As of 20 minutes ago, she was done with the rest of the world. As far as she was concerned, the rest of the functioning world could go fuck itself. It could go rot in the corner while she hoarded herself in her little ice castle, watching as everything else around her was buried in a blanket of her endless winter. In a few hours any evidence that the human race even existed would be long gone. She never had a very good understanding of her powers, but now they were completely running off the charts.

If I had to estimate, and I was never very good with math or even basic reasoning skills, really, but I'd say that the world has about five hours left. It was a rough estimate, to be sure. But with the way that the snow was falling outside, it seemed like a pretty conservative estimate. This is it. This is the arrival of the armageddon that she's been promising for such a long time. I've teased it for so long, but sincerely, it was finally here. Today was reckoning day. It was only a matter of time until the buildings started tipping over and started crashing into each other like dominoes. The buildings too firmly rooted to be pushed over? Well, they would stand, but it didn't matter anyway. It didn't matter who or where you were. The winter was going to destroy everything. If you could escape the snow, then the cold would claim you just the same. It's over.

_Millions._ Millions were going to die because of Elsa. Probably more. Maybe _everyone._ Arendelle was just the beginning. It was the first target of Elsa's wrath, but rest assured, it wouldn't be the last. This is the countdown to fucking extinction, and we're just running out the last few minutes before the hands on the clock hit dawn. There isn't going to be a tomorrow. Elsa has cancelled it.

I'm still resting on the floor, trying to figure what I can actually do right now. Only one thought rested in my mind. _I have to stop Elsa._ I cannot _allow_ her to do this. I needed to stop her. I was the only one left who even knew what was actually going on. Only a very small amount of people have ever discovered Elsa's power. Everyone else was dead. I was the lone survivor of an increasingly rare variety of people. And it's not like I could convince anyone else, without sounding like a lunatic. I was on my own.

An agonizing thought blossoms in my mind. It's painful to think this, but I have to. _Elsa is dead._ The old Elsa, at least. The Elsa I fell in love with was gone. The Elsa who I was living with for all these months, the Elsa whose virginity I took away, the Elsa who I watched horror movies with until the sunset, _that_ Elsa was dead. It isn't an easy thing for me to accept. I didn't have all day to sit around feeling sorry for my dumb ass. There were far more important things to deal with.

Still, though, it isn't easy to get over... _Elsa is dead._ Admitting this to myself is like lopping off a limb. She was as close to me as an actual limb. Losing her is like losing a part of myself. It's like losing the most important part of myself, it's like losing my bloody soul. Just a week ago we were at the coffee shop, having a nice little conversation together. If I had known that it would be the last moment I had to share with the old Elsa, I think I would have jumped in front of that car willingly. This was a nightmare beyond imagining and it was only going to get even worse.

I knew what I had to do. Well, no, that's a lie. I have no goddamn idea what I'm going to do, nor how I'm going to do it. I'm sure I was going to have to pull something out of my ass sooner or later. But I had a vague idea about my course of action. My goal seemed pretty obvious, just not how to actively accomplish it.

I have to stop Elsa. Maybe if I could get to that big ice castle, I could talk her out of this. It was the _only_ desperate plan I could conjure up. I have to get to that eyesore of a castle, and I need to convince Elsa to stop all of this. I know I can convince her, _some way, _but first I have to make my way to her. Granted, first, I needed to actually find her, but somehow I don't think a giant ice palace was going to be all that hard to find. All I could do at this point was get to that castle. Nothing else mattered. There was nothing else I could even do at this point. It doesn't matter how difficult it is to get there, either. I'm going to find her and stop this storm, or die trying.

Delusion is a feeling I'm used to having, but not this time. This time I was fully self-aware. I knew my entire plan was desperate and it wasn't going to actually work, but what other option did I even have? What else could I do? The world is going to end in a few hours. If I stay in this hotel room, wallowing in self-pity, then I'm going to die anyway. Sitting around feeling sorry for myself wasn't for me. It was something Elsa would always do. I wasn't like her in that way, though. The two of us were identical in almost every way, but we differed in this one key point. This one defining factor. Elsa was the type who would give up and give in to her despair. I was Anna, though. I never give up, no matter how bad the odds are. I have faced impossible odds already and kicked their ass. I was about to face a lot more.

I'm going to perish alongside every other resident of Arendelle if I stay here. Finding Elsa was my best option. It was my _only_ option. I had _nothing_ to lose. I was going to die anyway, along with everybody else. I might as well die trying to change something. I have been ruining everything for so long. All of this, this entire storm, was because of me and my endless aptitude for screwing simple things up. The entire world was literally about to end because I was a stupid jackass who couldn't leave well enough alone.

Has anything really bad ever happened to you, and then somebody tried to reassure you by telling you that, "things may be bad, but at least it isn't the end of the world!" Why do they do that? Well it's because they want to make your problems look small compared to a really big one. The biggest problem they can think of, which is the _end of the world. _The very same problem I was actually facing in reality. To add insult to injury, it was all my fault. This was all my mistake.

I've been a careless person. Elsa, too. We were both careless, reckless people. We brought this destruction because of our actions. I haven't been living, these past few months. I've drifted in and out of days, sleepwalking, oblivious to the world around me. I was so passionately, insanely in love with Elsa that I allowed my lust for her to cloud my judgement. I've been so irrational. I've been drunk off her, lucidly wasting each and every day. I didn't see the obvious signs that something sinister was at foot. The writing was plainly on the wall, and I was too darn daft to see it. How can you live in the same damn room with someone, for months, and never once even suspect that they might, you know, _have magical fucking powers? _

What was wrong with me? Maybe I was living in denial about all of this. It's not exactly something that's easy to swallow, no. But it still didn't justify how moronic I've been acting these past few months. The things I've said sound so insane in retrospect, like my love for Elsa was screwing with my brain. But for the first time in forever, I'm seeing Elsa's actions for how they truly were.

I'm attempting to understand all this craziness. What was Elsa's endgame? What was Elsa actually trying to accomplish with all of this? What was the fruit of Elsa's labor going to be; a vast, barren, dead world? She kills everyone with her magical storm, and then what? She's going to hang out for the rest of eternity alone in her ice palace, sitting upon the rubble of the old world? What kind of future was that? She was going to be queen of nothing. Her new world order would be built on the shards of the old world. What was the point in being the only human left alive, doomed to a lifetime of isolation, pacing around in a cold tomb amassed from your own hatred? To me, that sounded like hell, a torture I couldn't begin to bear. Elsa though celebrated her fate, embracing it. She was actively looking forward to beckoning the demise of the planet.

She planned to spend the rest of her life alone in that ice palace. Her life, I take it, wouldn't last very long. The castle wasn't equipped with any food or water. I mean, what was she going to eat, ice cream all day? Could she even do that? What happens if she gets sick, or needs to work out? If she dooms the world to extinction, then she wouldn't last very long either. This was mutually assured destruction on Elsa's part. She was going to take out every last person in the world with her. She didn't even care anymore. She didn't need to revise a survival plan, because she didn't intend to survive.

The storm is evolving slowly though. It's surely ingesting the world, but considering Elsa's power, I was surprised it was taking so long. Why? I assumed it was because Elsa was savoring this. She was prolonging every last ounce of plight she was imposing to the world. She has the entire world ensnared in her finger tips, and she was now playing with it, like a child with a new toy does instinctively. She's disfiguring, mutilating the world in any sadistic way she wants, and you know what? Nothing can stop her. She was free to encase the world in her snow and torture it for as long as it kept her amused. Ending the world quickly would be boring for her, so she's taking her sweet time. This is some sick game to her.

She's standing over the world, laughing at its misery. She has her stiletto heel over the world's windpipe, slowly strangling the life out of it.

As I'm sitting on the floor of the hotel, which is now absolutely freezing like every other thing in this hell hole, I'm trying to figure out Elsa's frame of mind in all of this. What was Elsa thinking? Even if she's out of her fucking mind, what was she attempting? Is this really what she wanted? To stand atop of the world and smite the rest of humanity? What kind of childish revenge was this? I'm searching my head for logical answers to these insane questions. I'm not having much luck finding any. Who did she think she was?

My internal search for explanations for Elsa's behavior finally brings up something. In the very back of my head, I discover the answer to all of this. It was something Elsa told me a long time ago. I didn't take it very seriously at the time. It was foreboding, yes, but half the shit Elsa said to me was weird in retrospect. For once, I can actually view Elsa's words for how they truly were. I was no longer deluded and driven insane by my love for Elsa. I was actually utilizing common sense, which was rare for me.

I know the endless flashbacks are getting tedious, but that's because this is the first time in months when I've actually been self-aware enough to look at Elsa's erratic behavior objectively. Subconsciously, this moment stood out to me. I didn't make much of it at the time. Given this new context, however, it was a really horrifying example of foresight.

It was yet another notable illustration of how unobservant I've been, and like all the others, it really came back to bite me in the ass. This memory explained everything.

* * *

It was just a few days after when Elsa and I went to the circus together. We were still high from how wonderful that experience was. We were going through another honeymoon phase.

The two of us were walking to class together. I had math, or some other impossibly boring class. I no longer was friends with Kristoff so I couldn't just rely on him to copy notes down while I napped. Now, I actually had to pay attention and study. During the rare occasion when I would drift off into oblivion though, Belle - you know Belle, right, the bookworm? Nice brunette chick who helped me find Elsa? - would wake me up before I started to snore. Despite socially sliding into obscurity, thanks to the fact that I spent 99% of my free time with Elsa, it was nice to know I had a few vague acquaintances left. Belle was always unusually nice to me. Belle was always nice to everyone.

Elsa, however, had art. She had it all on her lonesome. We manipulated our schedules to assure that we had all of our classes together, with one exception. That exception was art. Elsa hated that class with a passion. It was unusual to me, because Elsa was someone who absolutely adored everything there was to art. She wasn't very good at any one particular aspect of it, but she was a vastly creative and artistic person by nature. Photography, drawing, painting, conceptual design, Elsa had an interest in everything. Even though the two of us were apart, I expected Elsa to excel at that class. She had excellent grades. However in art, she was pulling straight C's. They looked pretty ravishing compared to my collection of D's, but for Elsa, they were completely out of left field.

As we pace to class together, Elsa is silent. Elsa is always silent. Sometimes I think she forgot she owned a tongue. So much isolation makes actual human interaction quite difficult at times. She wasn't usually this way around me, though. When we were alone together, she could finally be herself. She is looking down at the ground, anxiously.

"Elsa, hun? Is there something wrong?" I didn't know it yet, but _everything_ was wrong.

She's not looking at me. I am concerned for her, but she's refusing to meet my gaze. "No, Anna," she denies. In a blatantly uncomfortable tone, she continues. "Why do you ask? I'm fine."

"You are not fine," I corrected. I know when my own girlfriend is fine. She was _not_ fine. She looked like she was about to get her cancer results back, not on a stroll with her lover to a breezy class like art. "Elsa, _tell me._ What's going on?"

She continues to stare at the ground. Something is disturbing her, but I can't put my finger on it. "Honestly, I'm fine. Leave me alone."

That is _enough._ You can be as depressed and gloomy as you want to be, that's your right, but you can't lie to me convincingly! I know you too well, Elsa. I know you like the back of my hand. I have watched every movie you have ever bought. I have slept with you every night for the last 8 months. I have memorized every pair of underwear you own. No secret was too shameful or controversial for us to share with each other. You don't take a girl's virginity without learning a little bit about her. Sure, sometimes it was hard reading her, but I genuinely thought I knew her well enough to deduce when she was screwing with me. "Elsa," I demand firmly. "What the heck is going on?"

"I don't want to tell you, Anna. It's fucked up."

"Well, we're both fucked up. You can tell me anything."

She stops dead in her tracks, unsure of what to say. A million thoughts are resting in her head. Haphazardly, she throws one at me. "Well, uh, there's no graceful way to put this... I'm scared, Anna."

"Scared of what?" I can't believe I haven't noticed it yet. Elsa_ is_ scared. She's positively terrified. Elsa had the poker face of a world tournament champion, but she's shaking now. The sides of her brows are stretched out in a panicked state, and her eyes are beady. I can't read her expression, exactly, but I think she's trying to articulate a resounding _help me I'm freaking the hell out. _"What... what's wrong, Elsa?"

It isn't easy for Elsa to reveal her feelings to me. She was always someone who tried to hide her fear and anxiety. This time however was too great of a load to bear alone. She spilled _everything._ She told me every last thing on her mind. She _hated_ her class. She _despised_ her class. She was more afraid of that art class than the ones she attended with Hans. According to Elsa, those classes were the equivalent of a water-boarding session. She would rather gnaw off a limb than sit through another class of art.

All of this is gravely shocking to me. I had no idea. Of course I had no idea! Do you think I would have let Elsa go through all of this alone, if I actually knew what was up? I asked her what the source of all her anxiety was. "There are these girls," she explains.

"Which girls? Who?"

"I don't know their names," she admits. We've stopped walking now. We're resting on the front steps of the school. We were going to be a little late probably, but this took precedent. I'm sitting next to Elsa who is withdrawing inside of herself, visibly uncomfortable with the fate she was going to have to endure just a few minutes later. "All I know about them is that they hate me, for some reason."

"What... what do they do?"

"They antagonize me every moment of the day." Her expression shifts on her face. She's a ball of nerves now, on the verge of panicking. This didn't feel like mere bullying. Bullies don't make a person as strong as Elsa have a breakdown like this. Something sinister was going on here. "They talk shit about me, they fucking throw things at me when the dumb shit of a teacher isn't paying attention, they criticize my art. All of them are fucking evil."

Holy shit. It looks like _Elsa,_ the strongest, bravest person I have ever met, is about to cry. Elsa once stepped through a nail and didn't cry. I think she still has that puncture wound on her foot, actually. It took a lot to make Elsa cry, but I could see she was just seconds away from weeping. "Elsa, don't," I assure her. I'm trying to sound supportive and reassuring. It was never something I was good at. "You should tell someone. Or, even better, have me break their fucking necks."

"No, Anna." Closing her eyes, trying to recapture her composure, she breathes out. She doesn't want her eye-liner to smear, more than likely. She's trying to calm the hell down but we're both pretty frazzled about everything. "You have a test in about two minutes, Anna. You never remember that type of stuff, do you? Go and deal with that for now." She smiles at me, now calm and composed. "It's not that big of a deal, really. I'll be fine."

_Crap._ She was right. I was so concerned for her well-being that I threw mine out the window. I was used to doing that. And it was an important test, too. I couldn't miss it. I would absolutely miss it in a heartbeat, if Elsa needed or asked me to, but she was such a great liar. She really did an amazing job at convincing me that everything was going to work out, even when things never did. It was one her most surprising talents. Here I was thinking I knew her like the back of my hand. I thought it was impossible for Elsa to lie to me, since I knew her so intimately. I was wrong.

_"Fuck me running Elsa,_ seriously, I'm an idiot. I guess I have to go then... but you'll be fine?" I should have known by now that Elsa wasn't selling me the whole picture. But I was naive to a fault.

She nods. "Yes. _Go._ My teacher is always late. Trust me hun, I'll be just peachy." Peachy was one trait Elsa never embodied, even at her brightest. But if she claimed she could deal with this for now, well, that was good enough for me. Elsa wasn't a little kid. She was more than capable of handling herself. I mean, it was just school, for shit sake. What was the worse that could happen?

"Fine, hun. If you promise me you're going to be fine, and this isn't just so I don't miss my test, then I believe you. You can always just text me if anything goes wrong."

"You can't check your texts during a test."

"Oh. Yeah. Well, I'll make sure first thing to check it afterwards, I promise. You don't have to worry, sweetheart! Nothing bad is going to happen." The two of us embrace. It wasn't a passionate, lustful hug by any means, but it was just the kind of thing that people would just think was between friends. It was all I could do to inspire some confidence within Elsa. She needed it. I held her hand for a few more lingering moments, and then, still staring her in the eyes as if to say _nothing bad is going to happen I swear,_ I sprinted off to my class. The whole thing exited my mind with how confident Elsa grew towards the end of our little pep talk. She looked like she could take anything on and succeed.

She was Elsa, after all. The most amazing person in the world. What could conceivably go wrong? My life was a long series of worst-case scenarios, though. Everything that ever happened to me, was a worst-case scenario. I was getting tired of always rolling snake eyes in the game of life. If Elsa is cursed with magical powers, then I am cursed with infinite misfortune. Every day recently seems to begin with a healthy ration of impending doom. Maybe a distant family member pissed off a gypsy a few hundred years ago, and I was still suffering from the aftermath. Or maybe, life just hates redheads.

Nonetheless, I was convinced Elsa was going to be fine. Maybe I underestimated how terrible people could be. Perhaps Elsa's unbridled pessimism was actually a beneficial thing. I was under the impression, that deep down, all people had an ounce of good in them. People were inherently virtuous. Call me naive if you will, but I always gave people the benefit of the doubt. I mean, if I didn't, would I have talked to Elsa, the weird, creepy girl, in the first place? Of course not. But I gave her the benefit of the doubt. I was the only person who would have, and it was the greatest decision of my entire life. I believed that if you really gave people enough wiggle room, they would assert themselves as decent people.

Elsa, however, disagreed. Our opinions differed _severely._ In Elsa's opinion, people were perverts. They were sick. They were twisted. They were not to be trusted under any circumstances. If one person was capable of genocide and killing sprees, well, everyone was. Elsa grew up an orphan. She grew up an orphan with few friends, and a curse that made her a walking time bomb. This obviously lead to Elsa being a little anti-social, to say the least. I mean, talk about being dealt a shitty hand. I was surprised she was as well-adjusted as she was, factoring everything that had happened to her. People have been thrown in insane asylums for less traumatic events. Elsa had a sour viewpoint of the world, but she was far from a miserable ball of angst. For a goth chick she was quite perky.

She always had a very low opinion of _people. S_he didn't like people. I think I was the only person who she could actually stand, which was odd to me, because by any account I was one of the most annoying people in the world. Perhaps she liked me so much, because we were complete opposites in the way our brains worked. She probably liked me so much, because she saw in me someone she wasn't. I was the happy-go-lucky bag of optimism she could never be.

When I said goodbye to Elsa, running off to my math test, I thought she was going to be fine. Everything has a way of working itself out, I thought. If I had been more like Elsa, I could have seen the inevitability in my decision. I could have prevented the whole thing. It was yet another disaster I was too blind to foresee or prevent. I should have assumed that Elsa obviously wasn't going to tell me the entire story. There was much more going on beyond what Elsa confessed.

Elsa, understandably tense, ventured off to art class, all alone. Letting her go was the biggest mistake of my life.


	22. A date with, uh, Belle?

**Foreshadowing galore in this chapter. **

* * *

That was the hardest test of my entire life, but somehow, I think I did a pretty decent job at it.

By no means did I have the potential to become a valedictorian or an honor student. I have tried, but my brain is simply not gifted enough to get particularly strong grades. _Whatever._ As long as I'm not failing or making a complete moron of myself, I could care less. I was a few moments late to the test, which meant embarrassingly, I had to creep up to my seat in a completely silent classroom, fumbling around like an idiot with everyone staring at me. Belle was seated right behind me, giggling at how obnoxious I was being. Why is it that every time you try to be quiet, you end up making the most amount of sound? Ugh. The test itself was no walk in the park, either.

I don't even know how, but I did an acceptable job at that test. At least I _think_ I did. Just as likely I was going to get the test back and a big fat _'D'_ would be plastered all over it. That's the thing about tests. While you're doing them, you're certain that you're kicking ass, but the moment it gets handed back to you... you're faced with how hopeless you really are. It's an exercise in futility.

I was emotionally exhausted by the end of it. Exiting the exam along with the rest of my class, I decide to check my phone to see what the time was. I couldn't help but think there was something I was supposed to be doing; something perhaps, really important I was neglecting? I couldn't quite remember though. Before I can even reach into my pocket, I hear a voice unmistakably targeted towards me.

"So, how do you think you did?"

It was Belle. Smiling this disarming little smile, as chipper as anyone could be after such an awful experience. I am caught off guard by her question, and by the fact that Belle of all people would even approach me in the middle of the hallway. Surprised by this, I blurt out a tone-deaf, _"absolutely terrible, more than likely."_

"Oh, Anna. You are too hard on yourself. I was watching you the whole time," she smirks. "It looked like you did just fine." Belle tilts her head in this cute little angle, smiling this radiant, glowing smile. She is brimming with warmth and tenderness, so open and perky. It's quite the contrast to the cold, foreboding Elsa.

I am so taken back with this unexpected bout of interest from Belle, I don't even know how to reply. My tongue leaps down my throat and takes shelter in my stomach. I can't offer a coherent response to her, so I stop to pause and retrieve my phone from my pocket. I'm doing that thing I do when I'm nervous, where I talk really fast and ramble on about nothing. "Trust me, Belle, if you knew anything about me, you'd be aware that there's never been a test in my life I did well at," I blurt out, checking my phone. _Good lord._ And I thought _Elsa_ was the socially awkward one.

Belle grins once more in response to me. "This might sound, er, _weird,_ but did you want to have lunch with me? I mean, if you're not spending the time with _Elsa,_ that is." I was used to that. I was used to people acting like me and Elsa were joined at the hip, like the two of us literally couldn't live apart from each other. I'm almost offended by Belle's statement, although I know full well that she's absolutely right. Me and Elsa are _inseparable._ We were _symbiotic._ I rotated around her like the moon. I didn't have any other friends besides Elsa. It was like the two of us were criminals, chained together. Usually, I was perfectly fine with that fact, but I really did want to be known as someone more than just _Anna,_ the girl who_ "hangs out with the weird girl." _Or at least, that's how others have described me.

I shove my phone back into my pocket. If I reject Belle's offer, I'm never going to make any friends. I'm going to be locked away with Elsa in her movie dungeon for the rest of my life. 99% of the time I would be perfectly happy with that fate, but for some indescribable reason, I had a moment of clarity. Or maybe it was more like momentary insanity. Either way, I accepted Belle's request. "Absolutely! Where do you want to eat?"

A brief glimpse of uncertainty grew on Belle's face. That glimpse disappeared the moment I agreed, promptly replaced with an outburst of pure delight. This giant grin forms on her face, happier than I expected her to be. She slaps her two hands together in enthusiasm. "I was just thinking about that small little place outside the school!"

"You mean that place with the terrible service and food?"

"Yeah! _That one._ What do you think?"

"Sounds lovely," I assured. Elsa would still have class for another long bit of time. Art class was twice as long as my own class, so I still had a century and a half before I could see her anyway. This was the first opportunity I had to hang out with someone who wasn't Elsa in _months._ I wasn't going to miss it even_ for_ Elsa.

Somehow, though, this nagging thought lingered in my mind. I couldn't help but have this ominous idea that I was forgetting something. That I was neglecting something important. But I was so excited to be going out for lunch with someone that I wasn't thinking straight. I was excited at the prospect of spending an afternoon with someone, and not have to hear them talk about _Megadeth _for a change. Not that I didn't appreciate Elsa's company more than anything, of course I did, but what could one stinking day do? What difference could one day away from her possibly make? And it wasn't even a day. It was a few mere hours. No, it was like, an hour, tops. All hell wouldn't break loose within the span of 60 minutes, could it?

Elsa would be fine. I was desperately trying to assert that I could actually do something socially, without having to lag behind Elsa. I wanted to prove that I was my own, defined identity. I wasn't just Elsa's sidekick. I wasn't merely her attached, conjoined twin. I was_ Anna. _

The two of walked to the small restaurant we would be eating at. True to her word, the place was a miserable dump. The food tasted like sulfur. The drinks tasted like drain cleaner. The atmosphere was so somber it felt more like a funeral than a restaurant. But who cares? I was out and about with one of the nicest girls in school, and the two of us were having a decent time together. We were laughing at each other's jokes, we were discussing things that didn't involve horror movies, and I was actually having a wonderful time. It was almost surreal. Not as much fun as lunch is with Elsa, but overall, it was a lovely meal together.

Belle was also really funny and charming. No, she was _hilarious._ She was one of the funniest people I have ever met. She was telling me all these ridiculous little anecdotes she collected through the years, making me laugh harder at each one. She was a wonderfully charismatic storyteller. As funny as the girl was, I realized that I essentially didn't even know anything about her. I didn't even know whether or not she was single, what she studied, or where she worked. I figured asking that was actually a pretty decent conversation starter. "Belle, in class yesterday, what were you saying about your job?"

"Oh, yeah. I was just complaining about something that happened, but actually, I _love_ my job. In case you didn't know, I work at a library. I'm in charge of keeping track of the inventory. You know, people come in looking for some obscure book, and it's my duty to find it for them. It could be some book no one on this planet has ever heard of except for the author, and it's my job to know where it is."

"Really? A library? That's definitely a unique job." I'm flashing back to those campy movies from the 90's with the kinky librarians. The ones with the stuffy, overbearing hairstyles, who secretly have this wild side to them, disciplining rebellious students with a spanking from a ruler. I'm picturing Belle letting her hair down in a librarian outfit, but I can't quite imagine Belle as one of those types. No, she was more of the type who actually just read books all day. You know, of the boring variety.

"Yeah, a library. _I know._ Quite the antiquated notion in modern society, but believe it or not, people do still like to read actual printed books. I would be broke if people didn't, so right there is a testament that it still happens. I mean, half the time the place is deserted." Belle pauses, while taking a brief sip from her coffee. She ate and drank so gracefully, very similar to Elsa. "But that's what makes it such a perfect job. You help like, two people and that's the entire day. I spend the rest of the time just reading by myself. I must have read every single book in that dump at least twice by this point."

The only other question that persisted in my head was about Belle's relationship status. I mean, I'm a teenage girl. Gossip is what I'm made for. It's my Achilles' heel. I've never seen Belle with anybody before. More than likely that was because I barely knew the girl, but still, I wanted to find out. I'm not a subtle person. Subtly is a precise art form. I am brash, over-dramatic and as direct as possible. I mean, I asked to come into Elsa's house the first time I even met her. Sometimes just being direct works best. "Belle, are you seeing anyone?" I query, while licking the whip cream off a cupcake.

"Yeah. Er, kinda. It's complicated and a little messy. You know how boys are." _Actually, no, not really._ The only guy I've ever dated was Hans, and you could hardly even consider him human. _Girls_ are more my thing, as we're all fully aware. But I couldn't tell her that, could I? I nodded shyly in agreement and she continued. "I'm seeing this guy, Adam. He's not the best guy in the world, but I suppose, if I really have to, I'd call him my boyfriend. What about you?"

Awkwardly, trying to avoid answering that question, I change the subject as fast as I possibly can. "Not a soul," I lie. Once again I blurt out the only sensible thing that was on my mind. "The other day in class, um, what were you saying about your work though? You had some complaint?"

"Oh, yeah, well, kinda. It's more like a funny story. So this guy comes into the library, saying he's looking for a certain French book from the 60's."

_Whew._ Looks like that is a conversational pitfall successfully avoided. I am simply not ready to admit to her that me and Elsa were an item. This was far too early in our relationship to tell her that I was into the ladies. That's more of a _second_ lunch type of discussion. "What was he looking for then?"

"He was looking for a particular book. A French novel. Now, if there's one kind of literature I know about, it's stuff from France. He says he's looking for a book called _Emmanuelle,_ but no, he doesn't even pronounce it correctly. He pronounces it completely wrong, like he's never even heard of the book before. And the funny thing is, I know exactly what kind of book it is, and he thinks I have no idea."

Belle and her stories were actually really amusing and such a change of pace from my usual lunch-time discussion. Playfully, I quiz further. "So, uh, what kind of book was he looking for?"

"Well, the book he's looking for is called _Emmanuelle: The Joys of a Woman. _It's an _erotic_ novel, Anna. The guy is asking me for _porn,_ basically, and he's acting all coy with me like I have never heard of the book. Embarrassed for the guy, I direct him to where he can find the novel without even looking back at him. But the whole idea that he thought he could just walk in and ask for some obscure erotic novel and that I would be too dumb to know what's really going on... how absurd! As soon as he walked away I am laughing hysterically behind the counter, like, what a loon. What a _creep!_"

Belle is now openly laughing at her own story, and I am too, the both of us sharing a genuine bout of laughter together. Belle had a million bizarre stories to share, and they were all funnier than the last. The sides of my stomach were hurting from how much I was cackling at all of this, and she was teary-eyed herself. We were laughing so long together that the only thing that could follow was an awkward silence.

"So," Belle declares, breaking the brief silence. "You and _Elsa._ You two are certainly very unconventional. What's up with the two of you?" She is resting her chin on her palm, grinning playfully at me, trying to throw me off guard again. It isn't going to work. She can change the subject all she wants, but I'm not falling for it.

I'm staring at the book she was reading. Belle is_ always_ reading. Even in English class, where the entire subject revolved around the appreciation of words and how to string them together to their best effect, Belle was reading. She never puts her books down. She worked at a freaking library and yet all she did was read. Most people thought she was just as weird as me and Elsa because of this tendency. I can't fault someone for actually being interested in reading, though. Most girls our age are more enamored with learning how to dance properly at clubs. Belle was an intellectual, someone who would sprinkle every conversation with some obscure, verbose word I've never heard of. Her intelligence was actually somewhat intimidating. Belle and her aptitude for storytelling made her quite the colorful character.

"I, um - what do you mean?" I stutter out, sheepishly.

Belle blossoms into this shy little giggle. A knowing smile grows on her face. "You and _Elsa._ Elsa certainly is one of the more idiosyncratic individuals I've stumbled upon. You two are quite fond of each other, aren't you?"

Oh _shit. S_he _knows._ But wait! How could she possibly know? Was it _that_ damn obvious? I'm taking far too long to answer her question, and she sees this. Every second I take to reply, I'm sealing my fate even further. After a million years, I finally compose myself enough to answer her, albeit nervously. "What... what do you mean exactly?"

That's a terrible answer. Belle knows it. _I_ know it. She's playing with me. She's a cat who has a mouse ensnared, and she's playing with the poor little thing, toying with it. Having a little bit of fun with it before it gets devoured. _I_ was that mouse. Belle is grinning so wide, brimming with excitement, like she can't wait to break down my entire charade. She's about to knock over my entire house of cards and there's nothing I can do stop her. It's like she can't wait but expose me. And she's absolutely adorable while doing all of this, which makes it even worse. She's about to say something, when another sound slices the tension like a razor blade.

It was a phone notification. Someone has gotten a text. That someone, luckily, is myself. "Hold on," I interrupt, retreating into the safety and sanctity of my own phone screen. I am desperately stalling for some kind of miracle. My prayers are answered. I wouldn't quite call this a miracle, but it certainly did constitute as an excuse to leave.

I checked my notifications. It was a text from Elsa. _Of course_ it was a text from Elsa. I didn't have any other friends, so who else would be messaging me? Besides notifications from the phone company reminding me to pay my bills, the only messages I ever received were from Elsa. Turns out, I actually received _several_ texts from Elsa. Plus a few missed calls. Twelve notifications in total, all from Elsa, all of which fell on deaf ears. I checked the texts in their descending order, panic rising in me after each and every message. My heart sank more with every subsequent cry for help.

_"Anna, I need U."_

_"Seriously, Anna, this is important."_

_"Something has gone terribly wrong."_

_"Anna where R U. I went to ur class. U weren't there."_

_"I'm going home. I'm serious. I need U."_

I am absolutely livid with myself. Her texts reminded me of something. Something I wasn't supposed to forget. _Elsa's art class._ The very same one she was dreading. The very same one I swore to her was going to be absolutely fine. I was _supposed_ to check my phone right away in case anything happened to Elsa. Not only did I neglect Elsa, but inadvertently I probably made everything worse by lying to her and creating some false sense of security. I told Elsa everything was going to be fine. How could I possibly assure that? You should never tell anyone that. Want to know why? Because when you say nothing bad is going to happen, and then when something bad _does _happen, it makes you a pretty shitty person. I should have been _preparing_ Elsa, not feeding her fairy tales which weren't going to come to fruition. I had a really bad feeling about all of this. My fears came true. They always did.

I _had_ to find Elsa. No matter where she was, I had to find her. Every corner of my brain was screaming at me, pleading me to find Elsa immediately and find out what was going on. Nothing else mattered beyond Elsa's safety and even that wasn't assured right now. I would leap through the boundaries of time and space itself to comfort Elsa in a moment of desperation. I had to seek her out. I had to find her _now. _

While I'm staring at these texts, intensely, trying to soak up the full extent of what was going on, Belle clears her throat, awkwardly. "Is there, um, something wrong, Anna?" Is there something wrong? _You have no fucking idea. _That's a pretty good question actually, one to which I have no answer to.

"I-I, have to go, I'm afraid." Belle shoots me this disappointed expression, though it looks like she understands. I reach into my pocket, fumbling like an idiot for my wallet, while Belle waves her hand at me.

"It's fine, Anna, it's all on me." No, actually Belle, everything is on _me. _Whatever disaster that was blooming was because of _my_ doing.

"Thank you so much," I exclaim, trying to collect all of my belongings into my purse, attempting to race out of there. I simply didn't have enough time to explain everything to her in a convincing way, so I didn't even try to clarify. While I'm collecting everything, my wallet, my phone, my notebook, everything I took out during lunch, Belle is reflecting this somber little smile at me, understanding, but really saddened. It really hurt to run out on her like this. The only person in the world, other than Elsa, who has treated me with any degree of kindness in the last month, and I was treating her like shit right now. It was not my intent obviously. It was the circumstances. I'm staring at her, unable to form a coherent sentence. What can I say? She can't possibly understand.

She shoots me this painful look. It _kills_ me. I have never seen anyone so disappointed. "It's fine, Anna," she lies. "Go._ She_ needs you."

"I..." No words are coming to me in this moment. I can't string together any kind of coherent statement. I couldn't even understand my own thoughts, let alone articulate them to someone else. I think she knew anyway. She knew it was because of Elsa, anyway. That's all that needed to be said. I look at her one last time, trying to comfort her. It's not working. I couldn't even say goodbye without coming across as even more rude. I basically sprinted off, leaving her alone like that, probably making her look like an idiot in the middle of a crowded restaurant. I made her look like a plague victim with how urgently I escaped from her. I completely _humiliated_ Belle.

After that day, I didn't talk to Belle again for a very long time. The last time I bumped into her, was at a coffee place. I was with Elsa that day. That was the same day I discovered Elsa's powers. It seemed like every time I bumped into Belle, something horrible was about to happen. Belle, while the nicest person in the world, brought really bad luck to me. Although in retrospect, all of my pleasant experiences were loosely strung together among a series of tragedies. For every fond memory, there was an equally sour one accompanying it.

She was sweetest person I have ever met. Belle never forgave me, though. She completely ignored me in class afterwards. Usually she would wake me up whenever I fell asleep during class, but after that day, she left me to my own devices. Because of Elsa, I was even more isolated from the rest of the world now. Those brief moments when Belle and I would friendly chat between breaks, well, that was gone too now. Belle never paid me any attention again in class. After how rude I was to the girl, I deserved that cold shoulder.

It didn't matter anyway. I'm running back home, attempting to call Elsa along the way. She's not answering me. I had a bad omen about all of this. While I was off having lunch, she was undergoing some type of emergency. I had this feeling that something really sinister was going on. I was dead right.

Little did I know it, all hell _did_ break loose within those 60 minutes. While I was out for a pleasant meal, Elsa was going through her darkest hour.

As I'm running as fast as I can to our house, the air is growing really cold. It's positively _freezing. _This makes absolutely no sense at all, because just moments ago the weather was perfectly lovely. In just the span of 10 minutes, the weather went from mild to chilly. Freak weather in Arendelle is not a new phenomena, we've been experiencing these sudden weather changes for months. It was exhausting having the climate change every other day, often without reason. But this time it just felt _wrong,_ like something evil was floating in the air. It was.

Elsa was in fatal danger. If Elsa is in danger, that means we're _all_ in danger. I didn't know it at the time, no, but if something bad was happening to Elsa, that meant something bad was happening to _everyone. _It's starting to snow now, and the cold is slowing my pace down. It's about to get a lot colder. The snow has only _started_ falling.


End file.
